A process queried the ADFS database decryption key via LDAP

Cortex XDR Analytics Alert Reference by data source

Product

Cortex XDR

Last date published

2026-06-15

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), LDAP Analytics (Server), Active Directory Federation Services Analytics
ATT&CK Tactic	Credential Access (TA0006)
ATT&CK Technique	Steal or Forge Authentication Certificates (T1649)
Severity	Low

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

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.

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.

ATT&CK Tactic	Credential Access (TA0006)
ATT&CK Technique	Steal or Forge Authentication Certificates (T1649)
Severity	Medium

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

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.

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.

ATT&CK Tactic	Credential Access (TA0006)
ATT&CK Technique	Steal or Forge Authentication Certificates (T1649)
Severity	Medium

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

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.

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.

ATT&CK Tactic	Credential Access (TA0006)
ATT&CK Technique	Steal or Forge Authentication Certificates (T1649)
Severity	Low

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

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.

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.