Detection: AWS SAML Access by Provider User and Principal

REMOVED DETECTION

This detection has been removed from the Splunk Threat Research content library and is no longer maintained or supported.

Reason: Detection deprecated as it no longer effectively identifies the intended malicious activity

Removed in version: 5.4.0

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

Updated Date: 2026-05-13 ID: bbe23980-6019-11eb-ae93-0242ac130002 Author: Rod Soto, Splunk Type: Anomaly Product: Splunk Enterprise Security

Description

The following analytic identifies specific SAML access events by a service provider, user, and targeted principal within AWS. It leverages AWS CloudTrail logs to detect the AssumeRoleWithSAML event, analyzing fields such as principalArn, roleArn, and roleSessionName. This activity is significant as it can indicate abnormal access patterns or potential credential hijacking, especially in federated environments using the SAML protocol. If confirmed malicious, this could allow attackers to assume roles and gain unauthorized access to sensitive AWS resources, leading to data breaches or further exploitation.

Search

1`cloudtrail` eventName=Assumerolewithsaml 
2| stats count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime by eventName requestParameters.principalArn requestParameters.roleArn requestParameters.roleSessionName recipientAccountId responseElements.issuer sourceIPAddress userAgent 
3| `security_content_ctime(firstTime)`
4| `security_content_ctime(lastTime)` 
5|`aws_saml_access_by_provider_user_and_principal_filter`

Data Source

Name	Platform	Sourcetype	Source
AWS CloudTrail AssumeRoleWithSAML	AWS	`'aws:cloudtrail'`	`'aws_cloudtrail'`

Macros Used

Name	Value
cloudtrail	`sourcetype=aws:cloudtrail`
aws_saml_access_by_provider_user_and_principal_filter	``

aws_saml_access_by_provider_user_and_principal_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	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

You must install splunk AWS add on and Splunk App for AWS. This search works with AWS CloudTrail logs

Known False Positives

Attacks using a Golden SAML or SAML assertion hijacks or forgeries are very difficult to detect as accessing cloud providers with these assertions looks exactly like normal access, however things such as source IP sourceIPAddress user, and principal targeted at receiving cloud provider along with endpoint credential access and abuse detection searches can provide the necessary context to detect these attacks.

Associated Analytic Story

Cloud Federated Credential Abuse

References

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: 5