CyberStack

MITRE ATT&CK / Techniques / T1606.002

Forge Web Credentials: SAML Tokens

ID
T1606.002
Tactics
TA0006 Credential Access
Sub-technique of
T1606 Forge Web Credentials
Platforms
SaaS, Windows, IaaS, Office Suite, Identity Provider
Data sources
Logon Session Metadata, User Account Authentication, Web Credential Usage, Logon Session Creation, Web Credential Creation
Source
attack.mitre.org
MITRE last modified
25 Oct 2025

An adversary may forge SAML tokens with any permissions claims and lifetimes if they possess a valid SAML token-signing certificate.[4] 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.[5] Forged SAML tokens enable adversaries to authenticate across services that use SAML 2.0 as an SSO (single sign-on) mechanism.[6]

An adversary may utilize Private Keys to compromise an organization's token-signing certificate to create forged SAML tokens. If the adversary has sufficient permissions to establish a new federation trust with their own Active Directory Federation Services (AD FS) server, they may instead generate their own trusted token-signing certificate.[2] This differs from Steal Application Access Token and other similar behaviors in that the tokens are new and forged by the adversary, rather than stolen or intercepted from legitimate users.

An adversary may gain administrative Entra ID privileges if a SAML token is forged which claims to represent a highly privileged account. This may lead to Use Alternate Authentication Material, which may bypass multi-factor and other authentication protection mechanisms.[2]

Detection

Mitigations (4)

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.[1]

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.[2]

M1026 Privileged Account Management

Restrict permissions and access to the AD FS server to only originate from privileged access workstations.[3]

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.[3]

Software (1)

References

  1. Mandiant Defend UNC2452 White Paper
  2. Microsoft SolarWinds Customer Guidance
  3. FireEye ADFS
  4. Microsoft SolarWinds Steps
  5. Microsoft SAML Token Lifetimes
  6. Cyberark Golden SAML