Detection: O365 Multiple AppIDs and UserAgents Authentication Spike

Updated Date: 2024-09-30 ID: 66adc486-224d-45c1-8e4d-9e7eeaba988f Author: Mauricio Velazco, Splunk Type: Anomaly Product: Splunk Enterprise Security

Description

The following analytic identifies unusual authentication activity in an O365 environment, where a single user account experiences more than 8 authentication attempts using 3 or more unique application IDs and over 5 unique user agents within a short timeframe. It leverages O365 audit logs, focusing on authentication events and applying statistical thresholds. This behavior is significant as it may indicate an adversary probing for multi-factor authentication weaknesses. If confirmed malicious, it suggests a compromised account, potentially leading to unauthorized access, privilege escalation, and data exfiltration. Early detection is crucial to prevent further exploitation.

1`o365_management_activity` Workload=AzureActiveDirectory (Operation=UserLoggedIn OR Operation=UserLoginFailed) 
2| bucket span=5m _time 
3| stats  dc(_raw) as failed_attempts dc(ApplicationId) as unique_app_ids dc(UserAgent) as unique_user_agents values(ApplicationId) values(OS) by _time user src_ip 
4| where failed_attempts > 5 and unique_user_agents > 5 and unique_app_ids > 2 
5| `o365_multiple_appids_and_useragents_authentication_spike_filter`

Data Source

Name Platform Sourcetype Source
O365 UserLoggedIn N/A 'o365:management:activity' 'o365'
O365 UserLoginFailed N/A 'o365:management:activity' 'o365'

Macros Used

Name Value
o365_management_activity sourcetype=o365:management:activity
o365_multiple_appids_and_useragents_authentication_spike_filter search *
o365_multiple_appids_and_useragents_authentication_spike_filter is an empty macro by default. It allows the user to filter out any results (false positives) without editing the SPL.

Annotations

- MITRE ATT&CK
+ Kill Chain Phases
+ NIST
+ CIS
- Threat Actors
ID Technique Tactic
T1078 Valid Accounts Defense Evasion
KillChainPhase.DELIVERY
KillChainPhase.EXPLOITAITON
KillChainPhase.INSTALLATION
NistCategory.DE_AE
Cis18Value.CIS_10
APT18
APT28
APT29
APT33
APT39
APT41
Akira
Axiom
Carbanak
Chimera
Cinnamon Tempest
Dragonfly
FIN10
FIN4
FIN5
FIN6
FIN7
FIN8
Fox Kitten
GALLIUM
INC Ransom
Indrik Spider
Ke3chang
LAPSUS$
Lazarus Group
Leviathan
OilRig
POLONIUM
PittyTiger
Play
Sandworm Team
Silence
Silent Librarian
Star Blizzard
Suckfly
Threat Group-3390
Volt Typhoon
Wizard Spider
menuPass

Default Configuration

This detection is configured by default in Splunk Enterprise Security to run with the following settings:

Setting Value
Disabled true
Cron Schedule 0 * * * *
Earliest Time -70m@m
Latest Time -10m@m
Schedule Window auto
Creates Risk Event True
This configuration file applies to all detections of type anomaly. These detections will use Risk Based Alerting.

Implementation

You must install the Splunk Microsoft Office 365 Add-on and ingest Office 365 management activity events.

Known False Positives

Rapid authentication from the same user using more than 5 different user agents and 3 application IDs is highly unlikely under normal circumstances. However, there are potential scenarios that could lead to false positives.

Associated Analytic Story

Risk Based Analytics (RBA)

Risk Message Risk Score Impact Confidence
$user$ authenticated in a short period of time with more than 5 different user agents across 3 or more unique application ids. 48 60 80
The Risk Score is calculated by the following formula: Risk Score = (Impact * Confidence/100). Initial Confidence and Impact is set by the analytic author.

References

Detection Testing

Test Type Status Dataset Source Sourcetype
Validation ✅ Passing N/A N/A N/A
Unit ✅ Passing Dataset o365 o365:management:activity
Integration ✅ Passing Dataset o365 o365:management:activity

Replay any dataset to Splunk Enterprise by using our replay.py tool or the UI. Alternatively you can replay a dataset into a Splunk Attack Range

Source: GitHub | Version: 4