IMPORTANT: No additional bug fixes or documentation updates will be released for this version. For the latest information, see the current release documentation.
« Potential Persistence via File Modification DNS Tunneling »
Elastic Docs ›Elastic Security Solution [8.14] ›Downloadable rule update v8.14.4

Okta User Sessions Started from Different Geolocations

edit

Okta User Sessions Started from Different Geolocations

edit

Detects when a specific Okta actor has multiple sessions started from different geolocations. Adversaries may attempt to launch an attack by using a list of known usernames and passwords to gain unauthorized access to user accounts from different locations.

Rule type: esql

Rule indices: None

Severity: medium

Risk score: 47

Runs every: 15m

Searches indices from: now-30m (Date Math format, see also Additional look-back time)

Maximum alerts per execution: 100

References:

Tags:

  • Use Case: Identity and Access Audit
  • Data Source: Okta
  • Tactic: Initial Access

Version: 101

Rule authors:

  • Elastic

Rule license: Elastic License v2

Investigation guide

edit

Triage and analysis

Investigating Okta User Sessions Started from Different Geolocations

This rule detects when a specific Okta actor has multiple sessions started from different geolocations. Adversaries may attempt to launch an attack by using a list of known usernames and passwords to gain unauthorized access to user accounts from different locations.

Possible investigation steps:

  • Since this is an ES|QL rule, the okta.actor.alternate_id and okta.client.id values can be used to pivot into the raw authentication events related to this alert.
  • Identify the users involved in this action by examining the okta.actor.id, okta.actor.type, okta.actor.alternate_id, and okta.actor.display_name fields.
  • Determine the device client used for these actions by analyzing okta.client.ip, okta.client.user_agent.raw_user_agent, okta.client.zone, okta.client.device, and okta.client.id fields.
  • With Okta end users identified, review the okta.debug_context.debug_data.dt_hash field.
  • Historical analysis should indicate if this device token hash is commonly associated with the user.
  • Review the okta.event_type field to determine the type of authentication event that occurred.
  • If the event type is user.authentication.sso, the user may have legitimately started a session via a proxy for security or privacy reasons.
  • If the event type is user.authentication.password, the user may be using a proxy to access multiple accounts for password spraying.
  • If the event type is user.session.start, the source may have attempted to establish a session via the Okta authentication API.
  • Review the past activities of the actor(s) involved in this action by checking their previous actions.
  • Evaluate the actions that happened just before and after this event in the okta.event_type field to help understand the full context of the activity.
  • This may help determine the authentication and authorization actions that occurred between the user, Okta and application.

False positive analysis:

  • It is very rare that a legitimate user would have multiple sessions started from different geo-located countries in a short time frame.

Response and remediation:

  • If the user is legitimate and the authentication behavior is not suspicious based on device analysis, no action is required.
  • If the user is legitimate but the authentication behavior is suspicious, consider resetting passwords for the users involves and enabling multi-factor authentication (MFA).
  • If MFA is already enabled, consider resetting MFA for the users.
  • If any of the users are not legitimate, consider deactivating the user’s account.
  • Conduct a review of Okta policies and ensure they are in accordance with security best practices.
  • Check with internal IT teams to determine if the accounts involved recently had MFA reset at the request of the user.
  • If so, confirm with the user this was a legitimate request.
  • If so and this was not a legitimate request, consider deactivating the user’s account temporarily.
  • Reset passwords and reset MFA for the user.
  • If this is a false positive, consider adding the okta.debug_context.debug_data.dt_hash field to the exceptions list in the rule.
  • This will prevent future occurrences of this event for this device from triggering the rule.
  • Alternatively adding okta.client.ip or a CIDR range to the exceptions list can prevent future occurrences of this event from triggering the rule.
  • This should be done with caution as it may prevent legitimate alerts from being generated.

Setup

edit

The Okta Fleet integration, Filebeat module, or similarly structured data is required to be compatible with this rule.

Rule query

edit
FROM logs-okta*
| WHERE
    event.dataset == "okta.system"
    AND (event.action RLIKE "user\\.authentication(.*)" OR event.action == "user.session.start")
    AND okta.security_context.is_proxy != true and okta.actor.id != "unknown"
    AND event.outcome == "success"
| STATS
    geo_auth_counts = COUNT_DISTINCT(client.geo.country_name)
    BY okta.actor.id, okta.actor.alternate_id
| WHERE
    geo_auth_counts >= 2

Framework: MITRE ATT&CKTM

« Potential Persistence via File Modification DNS Tunneling »