Okta Multiple Failed Requests to Access Applications
Last updated 2 days ago on 2026-07-17
About
The following analytic detects multiple failed attempts to access applications in Okta, potentially indicating the reuse of a stolen web session cookie. It leverages Okta logs to evaluate policy and SSO events, aggregating data by user, session, and IP. The detection triggers when more than half of the app sign-on attempts are unsuccessful across multiple applications. This activity is significant as it may indicate an attempt to bypass authentication mechanisms. If confirmed malicious, it could lead to unauthorized access to sensitive applications and data, posing a significant security risk.
- Platform
Splunk
- Tags
- Data Source: SplunkDomain: ApplicationRule Type: QueryOS: Any
- Severity
- medium
- Risk Score
- 47
- References
- https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1538(external, opens in a new tab or window)https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1550/004(external, opens in a new tab or window)
- False Positives
- False positives may be present based on organization size and configuration of Okta.
- Source
- View on GitHub(external, opens in a new tab or window)
Definition
- Rule Language
- SPL
- Rule Type
- query
text code block:`okta` target{}.type=AppInstance (eventType=policy.evaluate_sign_on outcome.result=CHALLENGE) OR (eventType=user.authentication.sso outcome.result=SUCCESS) | eval targets=mvzip('target{}.type', 'target{}.displayName', ": ") | eval targets=mvfilter(targets LIKE "AppInstance%") | stats count min(_time) as _time values(outcome.result) as outcome.result dc(eval(if(eventType="policy.evaluate_sign_on",targets,NULL))) as total_challenges sum(eval(if(eventType="user.authentication.sso",1,0))) as total_successes by authenticationContext.externalSessionId targets actor.alternateId client.ipAddress | search total_challenges > 0 | stats min(_time) as _time values(*) as * sum(total_challenges) as total_challenges sum(total_successes) as total_successes values(eval(if("outcome.result"="SUCCESS",targets,NULL))) as success_apps values(eval(if(":outcome.result"!="SUCCESS",targets,NULL))) as no_success_apps by authenticationContext.externalSessionId actor.alternateId client.ipAddress | fillnull | eval ratio=round(total_successes/total_challenges,2), severity="HIGH", mitre_technique_id="T1538", description="actor.alternateId". " from " . "client.ipAddress" . " seen opening " . total_challenges . " chiclets/apps with " . total_successes . " challenges successfully passed" | fields - count, targets | search ratio < 0.5 total_challenges > 2 | `okta_multiple_failed_requests_to_access_applications_filter`
View this rule on Splunk
This rule was sourced from the official Splunk public repository. View the original rule on GitHub(external, opens in a new tab or window).