Why the long name? Okta discloses auth bypass bug affecting 52-character usernames

Why the long name? Okta discloses auth bypass bug affecting 52-character usernames

November 4, 2024 at 06:41AM

Okta identified a security flaw that could let attackers exploit usernames of 52 characters or more for AD/LDAP Delegated Authentication. This bug persisted for over three months before it was fixed on October 30. Okta advises customers to implement multi-factor authentication and check logs for suspicious activity since July 23.

### Meeting Takeaways

1. **Security Vulnerability Identified**: Okta discovered a security flaw that could allow unauthorized access using only a username under specific conditions.

2. **Username Length Requirement**: The bug could be exploited only if the username was 52 characters or longer, which might occur with lengthy work email addresses.

3. **Conditions for Exploitation**:
– A successful login attempt must already be stored.
– The AD/LDAP agent must be down or unreachable (e.g., high network traffic).
– Multi-factor authentication (MFA) must be disabled or not implemented.

4. **Timeline of Discovery**: Okta identified the issue on October 30 and resolved it the same day, with the vulnerability existing for over three months prior.

5. **Customer Advisory**: Okta advised customers to review logs for attempts using long usernames back to July 23 and did not confirm any known successful exploitations.

6. **MFA Recommendation**: Okta emphasized the importance of implementing MFA and encouraged the use of phishing-resistant authenticators such as:
– Okta Verify FastPass
– FIDO2 WebAuthn
– PIV/CAC Smart Cards

7. **Security Insights from Experts**:
– Yan Zhu from Brave noted that using the bcrypt algorithm with lengthy usernames could lead to security issues. To mitigate this, she recommended using the SHA-256 algorithm for hashing username and password pairs.

Overall, the meeting highlighted a significant security vulnerability in Okta’s authentication process, prompting immediate customer action to enhance security measures.

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