Detection Strategy for Forged Web Credentials

Forged web credentials may manifest as anomalous SAML token issuance, OpenID Connect token minting, or Zimbra pre-auth key usage. Defenders may see tokens issued without normal authentication events, multiple valid tokens generated simultaneously, or signing anomalies in IdP logs.

Forged web credentials on Windows endpoints may be detected by anomalous browser cookie files, local token cache manipulations, or tools injecting tokens into sessions. Defenders may observe processes accessing LSASS or browser credential stores unexpectedly, followed by unusual logon sessions.

On Linux systems, forged credentials may be injected into browser session files, curl/wget headers, or token caches in memory. Detection can leverage auditd to track processes accessing sensitive files (~/.mozilla, ~/.config/chromium, ~/.aws/credentials) and correlate with suspicious outbound connections.

Forged credentials on macOS may be visible through Unified Logs showing abnormal access to Keychain or browser session files. Correlated with anomalous web session usage from Safari or Chrome processes outside typical user context.

SaaS platforms may show forged credentials as unusual API keys, tokens, or session cookies being used without corresponding authentication. Correlated patterns include simultaneous valid sessions from multiple geographies, unusual API calls with new tokens, or bypass of expected MFA enforcement.

Forged web credentials in Office Suite contexts may appear as abnormal authentication headers in Outlook or Teams traffic, or unexplained OAuth grants in M365/Azure logs. Defenders should correlate token usage events with missing authentication flows and mismatched device/user context.