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ServiceNow identity, MFA & sign-in security checks

Who can sign in, how strongly they authenticate, and whether sessions, passwords and sign-in locations meet the baseline every admin account should clear.

On ServiceNow, Black Cat runs 6 checks in this area on every scan. Each one below lists its severity, how to fix it, and the compliance controls it satisfies where a control applies. See what access the ServiceNow connector needs.

Checks (6)

severity: high Inactive User With Roles fix difficulty: easy #

Remove all role assignments from inactive user accounts to prevent privilege accumulation

  1. Navigate to User Administration > Users
  2. Search for the flagged user by username
  3. Open the user record and scroll to the Roles related list
  4. Remove all assigned roles by selecting them and clicking Remove
  5. Save the user record
  6. Optionally deactivate the account if it is no longer needed

Vendor docs ↗

Satisfies: NIS2 Directive NIS2-21.i.2 DORA (SaaS Security) DORA-9.6

severity: critical MFA Not Enforced For Admins fix difficulty: medium #

Enable multi-factor authentication for all admin accounts via the Multi-Factor Authentication configuration

  1. Navigate to Multi-Factor Authentication > MFA Configurations
  2. Locate the disabled MFA criteria record
  3. Open the record and check the Active checkbox
  4. Ensure the criteria targets admin and security_admin roles
  5. Enable "MFA Globally Enabled" in the MFA properties if individual criteria are not sufficient
  6. Save the configuration and test MFA enforcement with an admin account

Vendor docs ↗

Satisfies: NIS2 Directive NIS2-21.j DORA (SaaS Security) DORA-9.4

severity: info User Locked Out fix difficulty: easy #

Investigate and resolve user lockouts to restore legitimate access or confirm account should remain locked

  1. Navigate to User Administration > Users
  2. Search for the locked out user
  3. Review recent login history to determine cause of lockout
  4. If the lockout is legitimate, coordinate with the user to reset their password
  5. Uncheck the "Locked out" field to restore access once the cause is understood
  6. Save the user record

Vendor docs ↗

Satisfies: NIS2 Directive NIS2-21.i.2 DORA (SaaS Security) DORA-9.6

severity: critical Default Admin Account Active fix difficulty: medium #

Disable or rename the default admin account to prevent use of a well-known credential target

  1. Navigate to User Administration > Users
  2. Search for the user with username "admin"
  3. Create a new named admin account for each administrator who needs elevated access
  4. Assign admin roles to the new named accounts
  5. Uncheck the Active field on the default admin account
  6. Save the record and verify named accounts can perform necessary admin tasks

Vendor docs ↗

Satisfies: NIS2 Directive NIS2-21.i.2 DORA (SaaS Security) DORA-9.6

severity: critical Weak Password Policy fix difficulty: easy #

Strengthen the password policy to require a minimum of 12 characters and enforce complexity requirements

  1. Navigate to System Security > Password Policy
  2. Open the active password policy record
  3. Set the "Minimum length" field to 12 or greater
  4. Enable complexity requirements (uppercase, lowercase, numbers, special characters)
  5. Save the policy
  6. Notify users that their password must meet the new requirements at next change

Vendor docs ↗

Satisfies: NIS2 Directive NIS2-21.j DORA (SaaS Security) DORA-9.4

severity: medium Session Timeout Too Long fix difficulty: easy #

Reduce the session timeout to 60 minutes or less to limit the window for session hijacking

  1. Navigate to System Properties > Security
  2. Locate the property "glide.sys.session_timeout"
  3. Change the value to 60 or less (value is in minutes)
  4. Save the property
  5. Inform users that sessions will now expire sooner

Vendor docs ↗

Satisfies: NIS2 Directive NIS2-21.i.5 DORA (SaaS Security) DORA-9.5

More ServiceNow checks

The information on this page is provided for general informational purposes and is believed to be accurate as of its most recent update. Product names, logos, and trademarks are the property of their respective owners and are used for identification purposes only; their use does not imply any affiliation with or endorsement by those owners. Descriptions of third-party applications and of compliance frameworks are based on publicly available documentation and may change over time.

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