Detection: Okta Failed SSO Attempts

REMOVED DETECTION

This detection has been removed from the Splunk Threat Research content library and is no longer maintained or supported.

Reason: Detections updated to use the new search logic and field names due to the TA update

Removed in version: 5.2.0

Replacement: Okta Unauthorized Access to Application

If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to us at research@splunk.com.

Updated Date: 2026-05-13 ID: 371a6545-2618-4032-ad84-93386b8698c5 Author: Michael Haag, Rico Valdez, Splunk Type: Anomaly Product: Splunk Enterprise Security

Description

DEPRECATION NOTE - This search has been deprecated and replaced with this detection Okta Unauthorized Access to Application - DM. The following anomaly identifies failed Okta SSO events utilizing the legacy Okta event "unauth app access attempt".

Search

1`okta` eventType=app.generic.unauth_app_access_attempt 
2| stats min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime values(app) as Apps count by src_user, result ,displayMessage, src_ip 
3| `security_content_ctime(firstTime)` 
4| `security_content_ctime(lastTime)` 
5| `okta_failed_sso_attempts_filter`

Data Source

No data sources specified for this detection.

Macros Used

Name	Value
okta	`eventtype=okta_log OR sourcetype = "OktaIM2:log"`
okta_failed_sso_attempts_filter	``

okta_failed_sso_attempts_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
T1078.001	Default Accounts	Initial Access

Default Configuration

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

Setting	Value
Disabled	true
Cron Schedule	`N/A`
Earliest Time	`N/A`
Latest Time	`N/A`
Schedule Window	`N/A`
Creates Finding (Notable)	No
Creates Intermediate Finding (Risk Event)	No

Anomaly detections generate Intermediate Findings (Risk Events). They do not generate a Finding (Notable) directly.

Implementation

This search is specific to Okta and requires Okta logs are being ingested in your Splunk deployment.

Known False Positives

There may be a faulty config preventing legitmate users from accessing apps they should have access to.

Associated Analytic Story

Suspicious Okta Activity

References

https://developer.okta.com/docs/reference/api/event-types/?q=app.generic.unauth_app_access_attempt

Detection Testing

Test Type	Status	Dataset	Source	Sourcetype
Validation	Not Applicable	N/A	N/A	N/A
Unit	Not Applicable	N/A	`N/A`	`N/A`
Integration	Not Applicable	N/A	`N/A`	`N/A`

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: 6