Behavioral Detection Strategy for Use Alternate Authentication Material (T1550)

ID: DET0338
Domains: Enterprise
Analytics: AN0954, AN0955, AN0956, AN0957, AN0958, AN0959, AN0960
Version: 1.0
Created: 21 October 2025
Last Modified: 21 October 2025

Analytics

AN0954

Use of stolen Kerberos tickets or token impersonation resulting in logon sessions from accounts without expected interactive logon events.

Log Sources
Data Component Name Channel
Logon Session Creation (DC0067) WinEventLog:Security EventCode=4624, 4672, 4648
Process Creation (DC0032) WinEventLog:Sysmon EventCode=1
Mutable Elements
Field Description
TimeWindow Allows tuning of how far apart related logon and process events can be correlated
UserContext Customize for high-value or service accounts with restricted access policies

AN0955

Access tokens or SSH keys used without corresponding login shell or PAM module activity, particularly for remote execution.

Log Sources
Data Component Name Channel
User Account Authentication (DC0002) auditd:SYSCALL execution of ssh, scp, or sftp using previously unseen credentials or keys
Logon Session Creation (DC0067) NSM:Connections Accepted publickey for user from unusual IP or without tty
Mutable Elements
Field Description
SourceIPWhitelist Tune for approved jump boxes or bastion hosts
AuthMethod Filter on use of password vs publickey methods for better coverage

AN0956

Token replay or impersonation in federated logins without interactive browser session or MFA prompts.

Log Sources
Data Component Name Channel
Web Credential Usage (DC0007) azure:signinLogs TokenIssuanceStart, TokenIssuanceSuccess
User Account Authentication (DC0002) m365:unified login using refresh_token with no preceding authentication context
Mutable Elements
Field Description
MFAContextRequired Customize for accounts where MFA must always precede token issuance
RefreshTokenReuseThreshold Threshold for number of times a refresh token is reused without re-auth

AN0957

Unusual reuse of OAuth access tokens from different geographic regions, without full login events.

Log Sources
Data Component Name Channel
Web Credential Usage (DC0007) saas:googleworkspace access_token issued
User Account Authentication (DC0002) saas:googleworkspace API access without user login
Mutable Elements
Field Description
GeoIPDistanceThreshold Minimum distance between token reuse events to trigger detection

AN0958

Container process uses mounted cloud credentials or token cache to authenticate without known orchestration.

Log Sources
Data Component Name Channel
Application Log Content (DC0038) docker:runtime execution of cloud CLI tool (e.g., aws, az) inside container
User Account Metadata (DC0013) AWS:CloudTrail AssumeRole
Mutable Elements
Field Description
ContainerLabel Restrict to prod workloads or certain namespaces
CredentialPath Path used to mount sensitive tokens (e.g., /.aws/credentials)

AN0959

Access token reuse to connect to SharePoint or Outlook APIs without interactive user context.

Log Sources
Data Component Name Channel
Web Credential Usage (DC0007) m365:unified TokenIssued, FileAccessed
Mutable Elements
Field Description
UserAgentCheck Tune to detect access from CLI agents or scripts rather than interactive browsers

AN0960

Use of instance metadata tokens across instances or misuse of short-lived tokens issued for different roles.

Log Sources
Data Component Name Channel
Web Credential Usage (DC0007) AWS:CloudTrail GetCallerIdentity
User Account Metadata (DC0013) AWS:CloudTrail AssumeRole
Mutable Elements
Field Description
TokenReuseWindow Time window where token reuse is suspicious
RoleMismatchAlerting Enable if tokens for RoleA are used in resources only RoleB should access