First-Time FortiGate Administrator Login

Last updated 5 days ago on 2026-01-29
Created 6 days ago on 2026-01-28

About

This rule detects the first observed successful login of a user with the Administrator role to the FortiGate management interface within the last 5 days. First-time administrator logins can indicate newly provisioned accounts, misconfigurations, or unauthorized access using valid credentials and should be reviewed promptly.
Tags
Use Case: Threat DetectionTactic: Initial AccessDomain: NetworkDomain: IdentityData Source: FortinetData Source: Fortinet FortiGateLanguage: esql
Severity
high
Risk Score
73
MITRE ATT&CK™

Initial Access (TA0001)(external, opens in a new tab or window)

License
Elastic License v2(external, opens in a new tab or window)

Definition

Integration Pack
Prebuilt Security Detection Rules
Related Integrations

fortinet_fortigate(external, opens in a new tab or window)

Query
text code block:
FROM logs-fortinet_fortigate.*, filebeat-* metadata _id | WHERE event.dataset == "fortinet_fortigate.log" and event.category == "authentication" and event.action == "login" and event.outcome == "success" and source.user.roles == "Administrator" and source.user.name is not null | stats Esql.logon_count = count(*), Esql.first_time_seen = MIN(@timestamp), Esql.source_ip_values = VALUES(source.ip), Esql.message_values = VALUES(message) by source.user.name // first time seen is within 6m of the rule execution time and for the last 5d of events history | eval Esql.recent = DATE_DIFF("minute", Esql.first_time_seen, now()) | where Esql.recent <= 6 and Esql.logon_count == 1 // move dynamic fields to ECS equivalent for rule exceptions | eval source.ip = MV_FIRST(Esql.source_ip_values) | keep source.ip, source.user.name, Esql.*

Install detection rules in Elastic Security

Detect First-Time FortiGate Administrator Login in the Elastic Security detection engine by installing this rule into your Elastic Stack.

To setup this rule, check out the installation guide for Prebuilt Security Detection Rules(external, opens in a new tab or window).