Unusual ADFS Remote Synchronization network connections from non-ADFS server

Cortex XDR Analytics Alert Reference by data source

Product
Cortex XDR
Last date published
2026-06-15
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 one of the following data sources:
    • Palo Alto Networks Firewall EAL Logs
      OR
    • XDR Agent

Detection Modules

Detector Tags

Active Directory Federation Services Analytics

ATT&CK Tactic

ATT&CK Technique

Severity

Low

Description

Detected an unauthorized configuration sync request to the ADFS Policy Store from a non-ADFS server, step for forging SAML tokens in a Golden SAML attack.

Attacker's Goals

The attack goal is to forge a valid SAML token to impersonate any user and gain persistent, unauthorized access to cloud resources, effectively bypassing MFA and standard security controls.

Investigative actions

  • Correlate this network event with AD FS service account activity. The attacker must use the service account's credentials to authenticate this request.
  • Check for a possible DCSync alerts.
  • Check alerts that related to ADFS server.
  • Check for other correlated alerts on on-premises systems that may be related to the Golden SAML attack.
  • Look for signs that the user account is compromised (e.g. abnormal logins, unusual activity).
  • Inspect the source machine for the presence of tools like AADInternals or custom SOAP-based scripts.