Okta Mismatch Between Source and Response for Verify Push Request

name: Okta Mismatch Between Source and Response for Verify Push Request
id: 8085b79b-9b85-4e67-ad63-351c9e9a5e9a
version: 9
date: '2026-03-10'
author: John Murphy and Jordan Ruocco, Okta, Michael Haag, Bhavin Patel, Splunk
type: TTP
status: production
data_source:
    - Okta
description: The following analytic identifies discrepancies between the source and response events for Okta Verify Push requests, indicating potential suspicious behavior. It leverages Okta System Log events, specifically `system.push.send_factor_verify_push` and `user.authentication.auth_via_mfa` with the factor "OKTA_VERIFY_PUSH." The detection groups events by SessionID, calculates the ratio of successful sign-ins to push requests, and checks for session roaming and new device/IP usage. This activity is significant as it may indicate push spam or unauthorized access attempts. If confirmed malicious, attackers could bypass MFA, leading to unauthorized access to sensitive systems.
search: |-
    `okta` eventType IN (system.push.send_factor_verify_push) OR (eventType IN (user.authentication.auth_via_mfa) debugContext.debugData.factor="OKTA_VERIFY_PUSH")
      | eval groupby="authenticationContext.externalSessionId"
      | eval group_push_time=_time
      | bin span=2s group_push_time
      | fillnull value=NULL
      | stats min(_time) as _time
        BY authenticationContext.externalSessionId eventType debugContext.debugData.factor
           outcome.result actor.alternateId client.device
           client.ipAddress client.userAgent.rawUserAgent debugContext.debugData.behaviors
           group_push_time
      | iplocation client.ipAddress
      | fields - lat, lon, group_push_time
      | stats min(_time) as _time dc(client.ipAddress) as dc_ip sum(eval(if(eventType="system.push.send_factor_verify_push" AND $outcome.result$="SUCCESS", 1, 0))) as total_pushes sum(eval(if(eventType="user.authentication.auth_via_mfa" AND $outcome.result$="SUCCESS", 1, 0))) as total_successes sum(eval(if(eventType="user.authentication.auth_via_mfa" AND $outcome.result$="FAILURE", 1, 0))) as total_rejected sum(eval(if(eventType="system.push.send_factor_verify_push" AND $debugContext.debugData.behaviors$ LIKE "%New Device=POSITIVE%", 1, 0))) as suspect_device_from_source sum(eval(if(eventType="system.push.send_factor_verify_push" AND $debugContext.debugData.behaviors$ LIKE "%New IP=POSITIVE%", 1, 0))) as suspect_ip_from_source values(eval(if(eventType="system.push.send_factor_verify_push", $client.ipAddress$, ""))) as src values(eval(if(eventType="user.authentication.auth_via_mfa", $client.ipAddress$, ""))) as dest values(*) as *
        BY authenticationContext.externalSessionId
      | eval ratio = round(total_successes / total_pushes, 2)
      | search ((ratio < 0.5 AND total_pushes > 1) OR (total_rejected > 0)) AND dc_ip > 1 AND suspect_device_from_source > 0 AND suspect_ip_from_source > 0
      | rename actor.alternateId as user
      | `okta_mismatch_between_source_and_response_for_verify_push_request_filter`
how_to_implement: The analytic leverages Okta OktaIm2 logs to be ingested using the Splunk Add-on for Okta Identity Cloud (https://splunkbase.splunk.com/app/6553).
known_false_positives: False positives may be present based on organization size and configuration of Okta. Monitor, tune and filter as needed.
drilldown_searches:
    - name: View the detection results for - "$user$"
      search: '%original_detection_search% | search  user = "$user$"'
      earliest_offset: $info_min_time$
      latest_offset: $info_max_time$
    - name: View risk events for the last 7 days for - "$user$"
      search: '| from datamodel Risk.All_Risk | search normalized_risk_object IN ("$user$") starthoursago=168  | stats count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime values(search_name) as "Search Name" values(risk_message) as "Risk Message" values(analyticstories) as "Analytic Stories" values(annotations._all) as "Annotations" values(annotations.mitre_attack.mitre_tactic) as "ATT&CK Tactics" by normalized_risk_object | `security_content_ctime(firstTime)` | `security_content_ctime(lastTime)`'
      earliest_offset: $info_min_time$
      latest_offset: $info_max_time$
references:
    - https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1621
    - https://splunkbase.splunk.com/app/6553
rba:
    message: A mismatch between source and response for verifying a push request has occurred for $user$
    risk_objects:
        - field: user
          type: user
          score: 50
    threat_objects: []
tags:
    analytic_story:
        - Okta Account Takeover
        - Okta MFA Exhaustion
        - Scattered Lapsus$ Hunters
    asset_type: Okta Tenant
    mitre_attack_id:
        - T1621
    product:
        - Splunk Enterprise
        - Splunk Enterprise Security
        - Splunk Cloud
    security_domain: access
tests:
    - name: True Positive Test
      attack_data:
        - data: https://media.githubusercontent.com/media/splunk/attack_data/master/datasets/attack_techniques/T1621/okta_mismatch/okta_mismatch.log
          source: Okta
          sourcetype: OktaIM2:log