A process queried the ADFS database decryption key via LDAP

Cortex XDR Analytics Alert Reference by data source

Product
Cortex XDR
Last date published
2024-12-03
Category
Analytics Alert Reference
Index by
data source

Synopsis

Activation Period

14 Days

Training Period

30 Days

Test Period

N/A (single event)

Deduplication Period

1 Day

Required Data

  • Requires:
    • XDR Agent with eXtended Threat Hunting (XTH)

Detection Modules

Identity Analytics

Detector Tags

LDAP Analytics (Client)

ATT&CK Tactic

Credential Access (TA0006)

ATT&CK Technique

Steal or Forge Authentication Certificates (T1649)

Severity

Low

Description

A process queried the ADFS database decryption key (DKM key) via LDAP.

Attacker's Goals

  • An attacker wanting to perform a golden SAML attack will want to steal the ADFS token-signing certificates.
  • To steal the token-signing certificates, the attacker will need to access the ADFS database
  • To access the encrypted ADFS database, an attacker will attempt to retrieve the decryption key via an LDAP query.

Investigative actions

  • Check if the LDAP search query was allowed for the user (logged on at event time) or process.
  • Check for unusual ADFS logins.
  • Check the process that initiated the query.
  • Investigate the LDAP search query for any suspicious indicators.

Variations

A process explicitly queried the ADFS database decryption key (DKM key) via LDAP

Synopsis

ATT&CK Tactic

Credential Access (TA0006)

ATT&CK Technique

Steal or Forge Authentication Certificates (T1649)

Severity

Medium

Description

A process queried the ADFS database decryption key (DKM key) via LDAP.

Attacker's Goals

  • An attacker wanting to perform a golden SAML attack will want to steal the ADFS token-signing certificates.
  • To steal the token-signing certificates, the attacker will need to access the ADFS database
  • To access the encrypted ADFS database, an attacker will attempt to retrieve the decryption key via an LDAP query.

Investigative actions

  • Check if the LDAP search query was allowed for the user (logged on at event time) or process.
  • Check for unusual ADFS logins.
  • Check the process that initiated the query.
  • Investigate the LDAP search query for any suspicious indicators.