Okta Unauthorized Access to Application

SPLUNK detection rule by Bhavin Patel, Splunk · Apache-2.0

The following analytic identifies attempts by users to access Okta applications that have not been assigned to them. It leverages Okta Identity Management logs, specifically focusing on failed access attempts to unassigned applications. This activity is significant for a SOC as it may indicate potential unauthorized access attempts, which could lead to exposure of sensitive information or disruption of services. If confirmed malicious, such activity could result in data breaches, non-compliance with data protection laws, and overall compromise of the IT environment.

name: Okta Unauthorized Access to Application
id: 5f661629-9750-4cb9-897c-1f05d6db8727
version: 10
creation_date: '2024-04-17'
modification_date: '2026-05-13'
author: Bhavin Patel, Splunk
status: production
type: Anomaly
description: The following analytic identifies attempts by users to access Okta applications that have not been assigned to them. It leverages Okta Identity Management logs, specifically focusing on failed access attempts to unassigned applications. This activity is significant for a SOC as it may indicate potential unauthorized access attempts, which could lead to exposure of sensitive information or disruption of services. If confirmed malicious, such activity could result in data breaches, non-compliance with data protection laws, and overall compromise of the IT environment.
data_source:
    - Okta
search: |-
    | tstats values(Authentication.app) as app values(Authentication.action) as action values(Authentication.user) as user values(Authentication.reason) as reason FROM datamodel=Authentication
      WHERE Authentication.signature=app.generic.unauth_app_access_attempt Authentication.action="failure"
      BY _time Authentication.src Authentication.user
         Authentication.dest
    | `drop_dm_object_name("Authentication")`
    | `security_content_ctime(firstTime)`
    | `security_content_ctime(lastTime)`
    | iplocation src
    | `okta_unauthorized_access_to_application_filter`
how_to_implement: This detection utilizes logs from Okta Identity Management (IM) environments and requires the ingestion of OktaIm2 logs through the Splunk Add-on for Okta Identity Cloud (https://splunkbase.splunk.com/app/6553).
known_false_positives: There is a possibility that a user may accidentally click on the wrong application, which could trigger this event. It is advisable to verify the location from which this activity originates.
references:
    - https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1110/003/
drilldown_searches:
    - name: View the detection results for - "$user$"
      search: '%original_detection_search% | search  user = "$user$"'
      earliest_offset: $info_min_time$
      latest_offset: $info_max_time$
    - name: View risk events for the last 7 days for - "$user$"
      search: '| from datamodel Risk.All_Risk | search normalized_risk_object IN ("$user$") | stats count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime values(search_name) as "Search Name" values(risk_message) as "Risk Message" values(analyticstories) as "Analytic Stories" values(annotations._all) as "Annotations" values(annotations.mitre_attack.mitre_tactic) as "ATT&CK Tactics" by normalized_risk_object | `security_content_ctime(firstTime)` | `security_content_ctime(lastTime)`'
      earliest_offset: 7d
      latest_offset: "0"
intermediate_findings:
    entities:
        - field: user
          type: user
          score: 20
          message: A user [$user$] is attempting to access an unauthorized application from IP Address - [$src$]
threat_objects:
    - field: src
      type: ip_address
analytic_story:
    - Okta Account Takeover
asset_type: Okta Tenant
mitre_attack_id:
    - T1087.004
product:
    - Splunk Enterprise
    - Splunk Enterprise Security
    - Splunk Cloud
category: application
security_domain: identity
tests:
    - name: True Positive Test
      attack_data:
        - data: https://media.githubusercontent.com/media/splunk/attack_data/master/datasets/attack_techniques/T1087.004/okta_unauth_access/okta_unauth_access.log
          source: Okta
          sourcetype: OktaIM2:log
      test_type: unit

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d2709209-9985-4d0e-9d75-72dfc23bcbcf

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