Okta Mismatch Between Source and Response for Verify Push Request
SPLUNK detection rule by John Murphy and Jordan Ruocco, Okta, Michael Haag, Bhavin Patel, Splunk · Apache-2.0
The following analytic identifies discrepancies between the source and response events for Okta Verify Push requests, indicating potential suspicious behavior. It leverages Okta System Log events, specifically `system.push.send_factor_verify_push` and `user.authentication.auth_via_mfa` with the factor "OKTA_VERIFY_PUSH." The detection groups events by SessionID, calculates the ratio of successful sign-ins to push requests, and checks for session roaming and new device/IP usage. This activity is significant as it may indicate push spam or unauthorized access attempts. If confirmed malicious, attackers could bypass MFA, leading to unauthorized access to sensitive systems.
name: Okta Mismatch Between Source and Response for Verify Push Request
id: 8085b79b-9b85-4e67-ad63-351c9e9a5e9a
version: 11
creation_date: '2024-04-17'
modification_date: '2026-05-13'
author: John Murphy and Jordan Ruocco, Okta, Michael Haag, Bhavin Patel, Splunk
status: production
type: TTP
description: The following analytic identifies discrepancies between the source and response events for Okta Verify Push requests, indicating potential suspicious behavior. It leverages Okta System Log events, specifically `system.push.send_factor_verify_push` and `user.authentication.auth_via_mfa` with the factor "OKTA_VERIFY_PUSH." The detection groups events by SessionID, calculates the ratio of successful sign-ins to push requests, and checks for session roaming and new device/IP usage. This activity is significant as it may indicate push spam or unauthorized access attempts. If confirmed malicious, attackers could bypass MFA, leading to unauthorized access to sensitive systems.
data_source:
- Okta
search: |-
`okta` eventType IN (system.push.send_factor_verify_push) OR (eventType IN (user.authentication.auth_via_mfa) debugContext.debugData.factor="OKTA_VERIFY_PUSH")
| eval groupby="authenticationContext.externalSessionId"
| eval group_push_time=_time
| bin span=2s group_push_time
| fillnull value=NULL
| stats min(_time) as _time
BY authenticationContext.externalSessionId eventType debugContext.debugData.factor
outcome.result actor.alternateId client.device
client.ipAddress client.userAgent.rawUserAgent debugContext.debugData.behaviors
group_push_time
| iplocation client.ipAddress
| fields - lat, lon, group_push_time
| stats min(_time) as _time dc(client.ipAddress) as dc_ip sum(eval(if(eventType="system.push.send_factor_verify_push" AND $outcome.result$="SUCCESS", 1, 0))) as total_pushes sum(eval(if(eventType="user.authentication.auth_via_mfa" AND $outcome.result$="SUCCESS", 1, 0))) as total_successes sum(eval(if(eventType="user.authentication.auth_via_mfa" AND $outcome.result$="FAILURE", 1, 0))) as total_rejected sum(eval(if(eventType="system.push.send_factor_verify_push" AND $debugContext.debugData.behaviors$ LIKE "%New Device=POSITIVE%", 1, 0))) as suspect_device_from_source sum(eval(if(eventType="system.push.send_factor_verify_push" AND $debugContext.debugData.behaviors$ LIKE "%New IP=POSITIVE%", 1, 0))) as suspect_ip_from_source values(eval(if(eventType="system.push.send_factor_verify_push", $client.ipAddress$, ""))) as src values(eval(if(eventType="user.authentication.auth_via_mfa", $client.ipAddress$, ""))) as dest values(*) as *
BY authenticationContext.externalSessionId
| eval ratio = round(total_successes / total_pushes, 2)
| search ((ratio < 0.5 AND total_pushes > 1) OR (total_rejected > 0)) AND dc_ip > 1 AND suspect_device_from_source > 0 AND suspect_ip_from_source > 0
| rename actor.alternateId as user
| `okta_mismatch_between_source_and_response_for_verify_push_request_filter`
how_to_implement: The analytic leverages Okta OktaIm2 logs to be ingested using the Splunk Add-on for Okta Identity Cloud (https://splunkbase.splunk.com/app/6553).
known_false_positives: False positives may be present based on organization size and configuration of Okta. Monitor, tune and filter as needed.
references:
- https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1621
- https://splunkbase.splunk.com/app/6553
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"
finding:
title: A mismatch between source and response for verifying a push request has occurred for $user$
entity:
field: user
type: user
score: 50
analytic_story:
- Okta Account Takeover
- Okta MFA Exhaustion
- Scattered Lapsus$ Hunters
asset_type: Okta Tenant
mitre_attack_id:
- T1621
product:
- Splunk Enterprise
- Splunk Enterprise Security
- Splunk Cloud
category: application
security_domain: access
tests:
- name: True Positive Test
attack_data:
- data: https://media.githubusercontent.com/media/splunk/attack_data/master/datasets/attack_techniques/T1621/okta_mismatch/okta_mismatch.log
source: Okta
sourcetype: OktaIM2:log
test_type: unit
CIRCL