Password-Spray

Definition

A password spray is an attack where an attacker tries a small number of common passwords against many different accounts, instead of trying many passwords against a single account. The goal is to find at least one weak password while avoiding account lockouts and basic detection rules.

How a password spray usually works

* The attacker gathers a list of usernames or emails for an organization.
* They choose a few likely passwords, often based on common patterns such as `Welcome1`, `Spring2025!`, `CompanyName123`, or simple variations.
* They try the same password against many accounts, often slowly or in batches, then move on to the next password.
* If any user is using one of those passwords, the attacker gains valid credentials.

How it differs from brute forcing a single account

* Brute force:

* Focuses on one account.
  * Tries many passwords for that one username.
  * Often triggers lockout policies and alerting, because the system sees repeated failures against the same account.

* Password spraying:

* Spreads a few passwords across many accounts.
  * Each account only sees a small number of failed attempts.
  * Is less likely to trigger lockouts or simple threshold based alerts, because the failures are distributed.

In other words, brute force is deep on one account. Password spraying is wide across many accounts.

Typical tools and methods
Attackers use a mix of standard tools and custom scripts for password spraying, for example:

* Command line tools and frameworks that support bulk authentication attempts against services like HTTP forms, SSH, RDP, or VPN portals.
* Web testing tools that can automate login form submissions.
* Cloud focused sprayers that target identity providers such as Azure AD, Microsoft 365, Okta, or other SSO platforms using protocols like OAuth or modern authentication.
* Simple scripts written in Python, PowerShell, or Bash that loop through lists of usernames and a small password list, sending requests through the target login endpoint or API.

All of these tools are designed to:

* Control the rate of attempts so they do not trigger lockouts.
* Rotate through users and passwords in a way that looks closer to normal traffic.
* Optionally use proxies or multiple IP addresses to make blocking harder.

Why defenders care
Password spraying is effective because many environments still have weak or reused passwords, and basic defenses focus on repeated failures on a single account. Detecting password sprays usually requires looking for patterns across many accounts, such as the same IP failing once or twice for a long list of users, or the same password being tried against many accounts.

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