Cisco Duo Policy Bypass 2FA

Original Source: [splunk source]
Name:Cisco Duo Policy Bypass 2FA
id:65862e8a-799a-4509-ae1c-4602aa139580
version:1
date:2025-07-08
author:Patrick Bareiss, Splunk
status:production
type:TTP
Description:The following analytic detects instances where a Duo policy is created or updated to allow access without two-factor authentication (2FA). It identifies this behavior by searching Duo administrator activity logs for policy changes that set the authentication status to "Allow access without 2FA." By monitoring for these specific actions, the analytic highlights potential attempts to weaken authentication controls, which could be indicative of malicious activity or insider threats. This behavior is critical for a SOC to identify, as bypassing 2FA significantly reduces the security posture of an organization, making it easier for attackers to gain unauthorized access to sensitive systems and data. Detecting and responding to such policy changes promptly helps prevent potential account compromise and mitigates the risk of broader security breaches.
Data_source:
  • -Cisco Duo Administrator
search:`cisco_duo_administrator` action=policy_update OR action=policy_create
| spath input=description
| search auth_status="Allow access without 2FA"
| 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_bypass_2fa_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:unknown
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 ("$user$") 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:'$info_max_time$'
tags:
  analytic_story:
    - 'Cisco Duo Suspicious Activity'
  asset_type:Identity
  mitre_attack_id:
    - 'T1556'
  product:
    - 'Splunk Enterprise'
    - 'Splunk Enterprise Security'
    - 'Splunk Cloud'
  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_bypass_2FA/cisco_duo_administrator.json
  source: duo
  sourcetype: cisco:duo:administrator
manual_test:None

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Cisco Duo Suspicious Activity