T1606.002sub-technique of T1606 Forge Web Credentials
SAML Tokens
SaaS · Windows · IaaS · Office Suite · Identity Providernothing on this site yetT1606.002 on attack.mitre.org
An adversary may forge SAML tokens with any permissions claims and lifetimes if they possess a valid SAML token-signing certificate. The default lifetime of a SAML token is one hour, but the validity period can be specified in the `NotOnOrAfter` value of the `conditions...` element in a token. This value can be changed using the `AccessTokenLifetime` in a `LifetimeTokenPolicy`.
If this is happening now
Checklists and playbooks to open while the alert is still live.
Playbook for this stage
Cloud account compromise
Impossible travel, an unrecognised inbox rule, or a reported invoice-fraud attempt.
how MITRE says to see it
Detection Strategy for Forged SAML Tokens
- Forged SAML tokens can be observed as authentication attempts with valid signatures but missing expected preceding Kerberos or authentication events. Defenders may correlate SAML assertions with absent Event IDs 4769, 1200, or 1202, or tokens issued with abnormal lifetimes, issuers, or claims compared to baseline.
- Forged SAML tokens in IaaS environments often manifest as cross-cloud or cross-account authentication without matching STS events. Defenders may see AssumeRole or GetFederationToken API usage without a corresponding SAML assertion log from the trusted IdP.
- Forged SAML tokens may be used on Windows systems to authenticate to federated apps without normal Kerberos activity. Defenders may detect anomalous event correlation, where access to SaaS/O365 via SAML occurs without prior TGT requests or user logons.
- Forged SAML tokens can appear as SaaS logins where authentication succeeded without MFA, or where tokens contain claims inconsistent with the user profile. Look for concurrent sessions across different geographies with the same SAML assertion ID.
what reduces it
- M1018 User Account Management. Ensure that user accounts with administrative rights follow best practices, including use of privileged access workstations, Just in Time/Just Enough Administration (JIT/JEA), and strong authentication. Reduce the number of users that are members of highly privileged Directory Roles.
- M1026 Privileged Account Management. Restrict permissions and access to the AD FS server to only originate from privileged access workstations.
- M1047 Audit. Enable advanced auditing on AD FS. Check the success and failure audit options in the AD FS Management snap-in. Enable Audit Application Generated events on the AD FS farm via Group Policy Object.
- M1015 Active Directory Configuration. For containing the impact of a previously forged SAML token, rotate the token-signing AD FS certificate in rapid succession twice, which will invalidate any tokens generated using the previous certificate.