Detection rules › Splunk
Cisco Duo Policy Allow Old Java
The following analytic detects when a Duo policy is created or updated to allow the use of outdated Java versions, which can introduce significant security risks. It works by searching Duo administrator activity logs for policy creation or update actions where the policy explicitly sets 'java_remediation' to 'no remediation', indicating that no restrictions are enforced against old Java. The analytic aggregates relevant details such as the user, admin email, and action context for further investigation. Identifying this behavior is critical for a Security Operations Center (SOC) because allowing outdated Java can expose an organization to known vulnerabilities, malware, and exploitation techniques. Attackers or malicious insiders may attempt to weaken security controls by modifying policies to permit insecure software, increasing the risk of compromise. Prompt detection enables SOC analysts to respond quickly, revert risky changes, and mitigate potential threats before they are exploited.
MITRE ATT&CK coverage
| Tactic | Techniques |
|---|---|
| Persistence | T1556 Modify Authentication Process |
| Defense Impairment | T1556 Modify Authentication Process |
| Credential Access | T1556 Modify Authentication Process |
Rule body splunk
name: Cisco Duo Policy Allow Old Java
id: ff56d843-57de-4a87-b726-13b145f6bf96
version: 6
creation_date: '2025-07-10'
modification_date: '2026-05-13'
author: Patrick Bareiss, Splunk
status: production
type: TTP
description: |
The following analytic detects when a Duo policy is created or updated to allow the use of outdated Java versions, which can introduce significant
security risks. It works by searching Duo administrator activity logs for policy creation or update actions where the policy explicitly sets
'java_remediation' to 'no remediation', indicating that no restrictions are enforced against old Java. The analytic aggregates relevant details
such as the user, admin email, and action context for further investigation. Identifying this behavior is critical for a Security Operations Center
(SOC) because allowing outdated Java can expose an organization to known vulnerabilities, malware, and exploitation techniques. Attackers or malicious
insiders may attempt to weaken security controls by modifying policies to permit insecure software, increasing the risk of compromise. Prompt detection
enables SOC analysts to respond quickly, revert risky changes, and mitigate potential threats before they are exploited.
data_source:
- Cisco Duo Administrator
search: |-
`cisco_duo_administrator` action=policy_update OR action=policy_create
| spath input=description
| search java_remediation="no remediation"
| rename object as user
| stats count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime
BY action actionlabel description
user admin_email
| `security_content_ctime(firstTime)`
| `security_content_ctime(lastTime)`
| `cisco_duo_policy_allow_old_java_filter`
how_to_implement: The analytic leverages Duo activity logs to be ingested using the Cisco Security Cloud App (https://splunkbase.splunk.com/app/7404).
known_false_positives: No false positives have been identified at this time.
references:
- https://splunkbase.splunk.com/app/7404
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: A policy has been created or updated to allow old java by user $user$ with email $admin_email$
entity:
field: user
type: user
score: 50
analytic_story:
- Cisco Duo Suspicious Activity
asset_type: Identity
mitre_attack_id:
- T1556
product:
- Splunk Enterprise
- Splunk Enterprise Security
- Splunk Cloud
category: application
security_domain: identity
tests:
- name: True Positive Test
attack_data:
- data: https://media.githubusercontent.com/media/splunk/attack_data/master/datasets/attack_techniques/T1556/cisco_duo_policy_allow_old_flash_and_java/cisco_duo_administrator.json
source: duo
sourcetype: cisco:duo:administrator
test_type: unit
Stages and Predicates
Stage 1: search
`cisco_duo_administrator` action=policy_update OR action=policy_create
Stage 2: spath
| spath input=description
Stage 3: search
| search java_remediation="no remediation"
Stage 4: rename
| rename object as user
Stage 5: stats
| stats count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime
BY action actionlabel description
user admin_email
Stage 6: search
| `security_content_ctime(firstTime)`
Stage 7: search
| `security_content_ctime(lastTime)`
Stage 8: search
| `cisco_duo_policy_allow_old_java_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 |
|---|---|---|
action | eq |
|
java_remediation | eq |
|
sourcetype | eq |
|