# [MED] Common SAML vulnerabilities and how to remediate them

**Source:** Snyk
**Published:** 2023-12-19
**Article:** https://snyk.io/blog/common-saml-vulnerabilities-remediate/

## Threat Profile

Snyk Blog In this article
Written by Sam Sanoop 
December 19, 2023
0 mins read Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML) is an XML-based framework that plays a pivotal role in enabling secure identity and access management. It acts as a trusted intermediary between various entities in a digital ecosystem, such as identity providers, service providers, and users. The primary purpose of SAML is to facilitate single sign-on (SSO), a seamless and efficient authentication process where a user can acc…

## Indicators of Compromise (high-fidelity only)

- _No high-fidelity IOCs in the RSS summary._ If the source publishes a technical write-up with defanged IOCs in the body, those would be picked up automatically on the next pipeline run.

## MITRE ATT&CK Techniques

- **T1528** — Steal Application Access Token
- **T1098.001** — Account Manipulation: Additional Cloud Credentials

## Kill chain phases observed

_(none detected from narrative keywords)_

## Recommended hunts

### OAuth consent / suspicious app grant

`UC_OAUTH_ABUSE` · phase: **actions** · confidence: **High**

**Splunk SPL (CIM):**
```spl
| tstats `summariesonly` count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime
    from datamodel=Authentication.Authentication
    where Authentication.action="success"
      AND Authentication.signature IN (
        "Consent to application",
        "Add app role assignment grant to user",
        "Add OAuth2PermissionGrant",
        "Add delegated permission grant")
    by Authentication.user, Authentication.app, Authentication.src, Authentication.signature
| `drop_dm_object_name(Authentication)`
```

**Defender KQL:**
```kql
CloudAppEvents
| where Timestamp > ago(7d)
| where ActionType in ("Consent to application.","Add OAuth2PermissionGrant.","Add delegated permission grant.")
| project Timestamp, AccountObjectId, AccountDisplayName, ActivityType,
          ActivityObjects, IPAddress, UserAgent
```


## Why this matters

Severity classified as **MED** based on: 1 use case(s) fired, 2 technique(s) inferred. Read the full article for actor attribution, tooling details, and any defanged IOCs in the body that aren't visible in the RSS summary.