Detection rules › Splunk
AWS SAML Update identity provider
The following analytic detects updates to the SAML provider in AWS. It leverages AWS CloudTrail logs to identify the UpdateSAMLProvider event, analyzing fields such as sAMLProviderArn, sourceIPAddress, and userIdentity details. Monitoring updates to the SAML provider is crucial as it may indicate a perimeter compromise of federated credentials or unauthorized backdoor access set by an attacker. If confirmed malicious, this activity could allow attackers to manipulate identity federation, potentially leading to unauthorized access to cloud resources and sensitive data.
MITRE ATT&CK coverage
| Tactic | Techniques |
|---|---|
| Initial Access | T1078 Valid Accounts |
| Persistence | T1078 Valid Accounts |
| Privilege Escalation | T1078 Valid Accounts |
| Stealth | T1078 Valid Accounts |
Rules detecting the same action
Other rules on this platform that filter on the same API call or operation.
Rule body splunk
name: AWS SAML Update identity provider
id: 2f0604c6-6030-11eb-ae93-0242ac130002
version: 12
creation_date: '2021-01-26'
modification_date: '2026-05-13'
author: Rod Soto, Splunk
status: production
type: TTP
description: The following analytic detects updates to the SAML provider in AWS. It leverages AWS CloudTrail logs to identify the `UpdateSAMLProvider` event, analyzing fields such as `sAMLProviderArn`, `sourceIPAddress`, and `userIdentity` details. Monitoring updates to the SAML provider is crucial as it may indicate a perimeter compromise of federated credentials or unauthorized backdoor access set by an attacker. If confirmed malicious, this activity could allow attackers to manipulate identity federation, potentially leading to unauthorized access to cloud resources and sensitive data.
data_source:
- AWS CloudTrail UpdateSAMLProvider
search: |-
`cloudtrail` eventName=UpdateSAMLProvider
| rename user_name as user
| stats count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime values(requestParameters.sAMLProviderArn) as request_parameters
BY signature dest user
user_agent src vendor_account
vendor_region vendor_product
| `security_content_ctime(firstTime)`
| `security_content_ctime(lastTime)`
| `aws_saml_update_identity_provider_filter`
how_to_implement: You must install splunk AWS add on and Splunk App for AWS. This search works with AWS CloudTrail logs.
known_false_positives: Updating a SAML provider or creating a new one may not necessarily be malicious however it needs to be closely monitored.
references:
- https://www.cisa.gov/uscert/ncas/alerts/aa21-008a
- https://www.splunk.com/en_us/blog/security/a-golden-saml-journey-solarwinds-continued.html
- https://www.fireeye.com/content/dam/fireeye-www/blog/pdfs/wp-m-unc2452-2021-000343-01.pdf
- https://www.cyberark.com/resources/threat-research-blog/golden-saml-newly-discovered-attack-technique-forges-authentication-to-cloud-apps
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 ("$user$") | 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: 7d
latest_offset: "0"
finding:
title: User $user$ from IP address $src$ has trigged an event $signature$ to update the SAML provider to $request_parameters$
entity:
field: user
type: user
score: 50
threat_objects:
- field: src
type: ip_address
analytic_story:
- Cloud Federated Credential Abuse
asset_type: AWS Federated Account
mitre_attack_id:
- T1078
product:
- Splunk Enterprise
- Splunk Enterprise Security
- Splunk Cloud
category: cloud
security_domain: threat
tests:
- name: True Positive Test
attack_data:
- data: https://media.githubusercontent.com/media/splunk/attack_data/master/datasets/attack_techniques/T1078/update_saml_provider/update_saml_provider.json
sourcetype: aws:cloudtrail
source: aws_cloudtrail
test_type: unit
Stages and Predicates
Stage 1: search
`cloudtrail` eventName=UpdateSAMLProvider
Stage 2: rename
| rename user_name as user
Stage 3: stats
| stats count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime values(requestParameters.sAMLProviderArn) as request_parameters
BY signature dest user
user_agent src vendor_account
vendor_region vendor_product
Stage 4: search
| `security_content_ctime(firstTime)`
Stage 5: search
| `security_content_ctime(lastTime)`
Stage 6: search
| `aws_saml_update_identity_provider_filter`
Indicators
Each row is a field, operator, and value that the rule matches. The corpus column counts how many other rules in the catalog look for the same combination: high numbers point to widely-used, community-vetted indicators. Blank or 1 shows that the indicator is specific to this rule.
| Field | Kind | Values |
|---|---|---|
eventName | eq |
|
sourcetype | eq |
|