Account Ownership Verification

Workflow detailing how and when to verify account ownership including disable 2FA

Overview

This workflow covers how a user can provide account verification. While the workflow focuses on disabling Two-factor Authentication (2FA) on a GitLab.com account, it should be used for any account changes.

2FA removal and other account actions can only be completed if the workflow below is successful.

User Account Verification

As of Aug 16, 2023, GitLab.com now requires that users without 2FA enabled verify their email address when a login attempt meets certain high-risk criteria. Review the blog post announcing this change. If a user contacts support with questions, use the Support::SaaS::Gitlab.com::Abuse::Email Address Verification macro.

If the user has questions about the email, phone, or credit card verification GitLab is requiring, please refer to the Internal Handbook for the workflow to follow.

GitLab Team Members

If the user is a GitLab team member, have them contact IT Ops.

2FA removal within GitLab

Self Service 2FA removal

In most cases, users can disable 2FA themselves and regain access to their accounts using one of the documented methods.

As of August 2020, Support will not intervene for free users if self-service methods do not work for them.

Group owner 2FA removal for Enterprise users

A top-level group owner can disable 2FA for any enterprise user who is also a group member. With the rollout of the enterprise_users_automatic_claim feature flag, users are automatically marked as an enterprise user if a group has a verified domain, and the user’s primary email matches a verified domain.

Disable 2FA with Support intervention

If a user cannot make use of self-serve methods (lost their account recovery codes and has no SSH key registered), proving they own the account can be difficult.

Support intervention for 2FA removal after the above steps have been attempted is only possible for users with an existing paid plan when the ticket is created. For security purposes, Support will not process 2FA resets for users who are added to a paid subscription for the express purpose of having 2FA disabled on their account.

If a paid user (belonging to either a paid group or a paid user namespace) or the owner of a top-level group is unable to disable 2FA or assist the user in regaining access to their account through the methods mentioned above and instead requests support intervention, then the top-level group owner or user must present evidence of their account ownership before we can proceed with disabling 2FA on the account.

Workflow

The workflow applies to all cases where account verification is required.

Keeping the Ticket Simple and Accurate

Because an ownership-verification ticket is a matter of record, the ticket must be simple, accurate, and tightly focused on the access issue. Do not allow the customer to bring up unrelated topics.

Step 0: Ticket metadata

Ensure that the ticket form, category, subcategory, and topic are accurate.

Most SaaS Account categories have automations or triggers, including 2FA removal.

Step 1: Checking user eligibility (2FA requests only)

Whether a user should receive the challenges are determined by the ticket metadata. Only use the Support::SaaS::Gitlab.com::2FA::2FA Challenges macro to repeat the challenges (such as if the user responded but did not answer them).

Conditions for SaaS users

A SaaS user must meet one of the following conditions to be eligible for a 2FA reset.

The user occupies a seat in a paid group on GitLab.com, or a top-level group owner intends to add the user to the paid group.
The user is an Enterprise User.
The user is the primary billing contact on a current invoice for a SaaS purchase.
GitLab team member (account managers, CSMs, or others) collaborate with the holder of this account in an account management project.
The user account is required for SSO access to Customers Portal to manage a paid subscription - see: Conditions for 2FA Reset when account is used to access Customers Portal.

More succinctly: they’re paid, they use the account to pay, or we use the account to communicate with them.

In many cases, a top-level group owner may submit a ticket on behalf of the user. See the Account verification matrix for more information.

Account verification matrix

The table below provides a summary of the available verification options based on the owner and user type:

Requester	Target	Challenges	Owner vouch	Notes
Enterprise Owner	Own account	Owner passes challenges on own account	Owner vouch (if required) must be provided by a different owner	If no other owner is available for vouch, see internal handbook for other challenges.
Enterprise Owner	Member of paid group or intent to be added	Owner or target user passes challenges on their own account	Owner vouch can be from requesting owner	Multiple enterprise users may be handled per ticket. Target user does not have to be CC’d on ticket.
Owner	Non-enterprise user	Target user passes challenges on own account	Owner can vouch	One user per ticket. Communication is direct from the target user who must be CC’d on ticket.
Paid User	Own account	User passes challenges on own account	Owner can vouch
Paid User	Other member of same paid group	Target user passes challenges on own account		Communication is direct from the target user who must be CC’d on ticket.
Free User	Non-member of group with intent to be added	Not allowed - request must come from group owner	Owner vouch required

See the Enterprise User section on how to identify if a user is an Enterprise User.

Conditions when account is used to access Customers Portal

Customers Portal requires all customers to access through a Linked GitLab Account.

The user is eligible and 2FA can be reset when one of following conditions are met:

The request is made by the primary billing contact on the latest invoice for a GitLab subscription.
The GitLab account is linked to the customers portal account for the primary billing contact on the latest invoice for a subscription purchase.

If an invoice can not be provided, suggest sign in with legacy email/password, where an invoice can be downloaded.

Step 2: Sending Challenges

If you need a basis for a response where you send the challenges, or in a 2FA ticket, if the user has not answered the challenges, use the Support::SaaS::Gitlab.com::2FA::2FA Challenges macro.

Step 3: Evaluating Challenge Answers

Note: In case the user sends back very minimal information and it’s clear it’s not sufficient or the answers are vague, reply asking for more information immediately after their response. You can provide some additional guidance, such as “please provide the exact date and time of the commit, not just an approximate one”.

To verify the challenge answers, use chatops, the Zendesk GitLab User Lookup App or, for those who have admin access, check at https://gitlab.com/admin/users/USERNAME.
Use the ZenDesk GitLab Super App’s 2FA Helper to determine the risk factor (GitLab internal) based on the user’s answers. Data classification criteria and any notes are in the Internal Handbook - Data Classification table (GitLab internal), which is considered the source of truth. If you need to leave a comment manually (instead of through the app), use the Support::SaaS::Gitlab.com::2FA::2FA Internal Note macro to put an internal note on the ticket.
- Specific conditions are required to be considered for 2FA resets.
- Challenge answers must be evaluated against a paid namespace if the user is a member of any paid namespace. If the user is not a member of a paid namespace, refer to Conditions for 2FA Reset Consideration for further guidance.
- If a group owner is answering on an enterprise user’s behalf, see the Account verification matrix for which account to evaluate the answers against. Even if the Enterprise user is not a current member of the paid namespace, the data classifcation is RED.
If verification passed: Request that your decision be peer-reviewed by another member of the team via Slack #support_gitlab-com.
If the verification failed: A peer review is optional, and you may opt to offer more challenges to the user.
Peer reviewer: In case you disagree, leave an internal note on the ticket stating your thoughts on what the risk factor should be and reply to the Slack conversation for further discussion. If you agree, move to the next section on what to do if successful.

Authenticating an Owner Vouch

In a paid namespace: If the user elects to have an Owner vouch for their request, apply the macro Support::SaaS::Gitlab.com::2FA::2FA ask owner vouch. This will direct the requestor to have an Owner (top-level) create a Snippet with a Support-provided string. Once they have replied verifying they have done so:

Use your Admin or Auditor account to browse to the Snippet provided (e.g. https://gitlab.com/-/snippets/2057341)
- Verify the text of the Snippet matches the string you specified
- Verify that the author of the Snippet is an Owner and direct member of the top-level paid group
If the Owner passes, you may count this towards the account verification challenges.

Note: Due to this bug some group owners are not able to create snippets. In that case use a backup method instead.

Backup methods for authenticating an owner

If a group owner is unable to create a snippet, you may use another method to verify their identity. It must be an action that has been specifically instructed by Support and identifiably unique to the situation. Some examples include having the owner:

create an issue in a project they have access to with a specific piece of text that you provide.
create a new project at a path that you provide.
update their GitLab Status to a specific string.

Twitter

If a user has a pre-listed Twitter account on their GitLab profile, this may be used as an additional factor for proving account ownership.

Invite the user to follow @GLSupport2FA in a reply to their ticket.
Log in to https://twitter.com/ using the GLSupport2FA twitter account in the 1Password Vault.
- If the login requires a 2FA code, log in to https://mail.google.com using the techsupport@gitlab.com gmail credentials. Note: If you are redirected to OKTA login, use the same gmail credentials to log in to OKTA.
Go to https://twitter.com/GLSupport2FA/followers and confirm the listed Twitter account is in the Followers list.
Go to the messages list and send them the following snippet:

Verification message to send

Greetings,

We recently got a request to your GitLab.com account. Since you listed this account there, we're reaching out for confirmation. Please let us know if it was you who initiated this request.

If you don't reply in the positive in 7 days we won't be able to count this towards your proof of account ownership.

Thanks,
GitLab Support

If a reply is received within 7 days, account for it in the Risk Factor Worksheet and continue with the workflow. Otherwise, this can be counted as a failed challenge.

Step 4a: User Successfully Proves Account Ownership

This section is typically done by the peer reviewer. If needed, the peer reviewer (or approving manager) may leave an approval note, in which case the original reviewer will perform the actions.

For situations other than 2FA, please see Account Changes workflow.
For disabling 2FA: If you agree with the decision, sign into your admin account and locate the username in the users table or by going to https://gitlab.com/admin/users/usernamegoeshere
1. Under the account tab, click Edit, add an Admin Note, and save.
2. On the account tab, click on Disable 2FA.
3. Use the Support::SaaS::Gitlab.com2FA::2FA Removal Verification - Successful macro.

Step 4b: User Fails to Prove Account Ownership

Note: Do not provide hints to answers, or let the user know which challenges they got right or wrong. That is how social engineering works!

If the user is unable to pass the risk factor but we have not provided all the applicable challenges, you may offer further challenges. This is true for all users, including owners.
- Most commonly, an Owner in the top level namespace (with a valid subscription) vouch is requested. Use the Support::SaaS::Gitlab.com::2FA::2FA ask owner vouch macro. See the Verifying an Owner Vouch section for more information. The originating email of this request should match a verified email of the Owner’s account. If the user is an Owner, vouch must be from a different Owner.
- For large organizations, please check the Zendesk organization notes to see if they’re using the large customers workflow before offering the owner vouch challenge.
- Some challenges can be answered with the help of their colleagues. Use the Support::SaaS::Gitlab.com::2FA::2FA Removal Verification - GitLab.com - Failed - Ask colleagues for help macro to let them know which challenges they can try to work with their colleagues to answer.
- When we receive a subsequent response, go back to evaluating the challenges to see if they now pass.
If the user is unable to pass the available challenges:
1. Inform them that without verification we will not be able to take any action on the account. For 2FA, use the Support::SaaS::Gitlab.com::2FA::2FA Removal Verification - GitLab.com - Failed - Final Response macro.
2. Mark the ticket as “Solved”.

Large Customers

For customers who are large enough to have an account management project, a different workflow can be configured for them that will allow Support to more easily disable 2FA for any of their users that require it. Before this process can be used, a GitLab team member from either Customer Success or Sales must perform a few setup steps (described below). If a customer requests this workflow, please refer them to either of those individuals.

Setup (for CS & Sales)

The steps to follow depend on whether or not the customer has a shared Slack channel with us. Either the customer’s Customer Success Manager (CS) or Account Manager (Sales) is responsible for performing this setup. Please proceed to Shared Slack Channel if they do or No Shared Slack Channel if they don’t.

Method 1: Shared Slack Channel

Find out which users within the customer’s organization are the ones that will be authorizing GitLab Support to disable 2FA on their users accounts. Obtain both the Slack handle and GitLab username of these users.
Create a file called 2FA Verification.md inside of the .gitlab/issue_templates directory of the customer’s Account Management project. If that directory does not exist, create it as well.
Populate the 2FA Verification.md file with the template below, taking care to replace the following variables from it with your specific customer’s information:
- CUSTOMER_SLACK_CHANNEL - The name of the shared Slack channel that the customer’s organization has with us.
- SLACK_USERNAME - The Slack handle of a user that is authorized to allow GitLab Support to disable 2FA for the customer’s user accounts.
- GITLAB_USERNAME - The GitLab username of a user that is authorized to allow GitLab Support to disable 2FA for the customer’s user accounts.
  2FA Verification Template
  
  A user in your organization is requesting to have GitLab two-factor authentication removed from their account. Please review and complete the highlighted sections below.
  
  Support Engineer Instructions
  - Ping the customer’s organization owners in CUSTOMER_SLACK_CHANNEL using the Notify Customer - Slack template. For this organization the owners are SLACK_USERNAME, SLACK_USERNAME, and SLACK_USERNAME.
  - Fill out the Request Details section below.
  Request Details
  - User Requesting Reset: USERS_GITLAB_USERNAME
  - Support Ticket: TICKET_NUMBER
  Customer Instructions
  - Review the request and get in contact with the user requesting the reset to verify its authenticity.
  - Comment on this issue indicating your approval.
  - Unassign yourself and any others from this issue.
  - Assign to the Support Engineer who opened this issue.
  /assign GITLAB_USERNAME GITLAB_USERNAME GITLAB_USERNAME, /label ~“2FA Reset” ~“Awaiting confirmation”
Open a Support Operations issue to request that three pieces of information be added to a customer’s Zendesk organization:
1. A link to the 2FA Verification.md file you created in the previous step, such as 2FA owner vouch: /path/to/2FA Verification.md/ in the notes.
2. A link to the customer’s account management project in the notes.
3. The skip_2fa_automation tag so that users requesting this won’t get the autoresponder.

Method 2: No Shared Slack Channel

Find out which users within the customer’s organization are the ones that will be authorizing GitLab Support to disable 2FA on their users accounts. Obtain the GitLab username of these users.
Create a file called 2FA Verification.md inside of the .gitlab/issue_templates directory of the customer’s Account Management project. If that directory does not exist, create it as well.
Populate the 2FA Verification.md file with the template below, taking care to replace the following variables from it with your specific customer’s information:
- GITLAB_USERNAME - The GitLab username of a user that is authorized to allow GitLab Support to disable 2FA for the customer’s user accounts.
  2FA Verification Template
  
  A user in your organization is requesting to have GitLab two-factor authentication removed from their account. Please review and complete the highlighted sections below.
  
  Support Engineer Instructions
  - Fill out the Request Details section below.
  Request Details
  - User Requesting Reset: USERS_GITLAB_USERNAME -Support Ticket: TICKET_NUMBER
  Customer Instructions*
  - Review the request and get in contact with the user requesting the reset to verify its authenticity.
  - Comment on this issue indicating your approval.
  - Unassign yourself and any others from this issue.
  - Assign to the Support Engineer who opened this issue.
  /assign GITLAB_USERNAME GITLAB_USERNAME GITLAB_USERNAME, /label ~“2FA Reset” ~“Awaiting confirmation”
Open a Support Operations issue to request that two pieces of information be added to the notes section of the customer’s Zendesk organization:
1. A link to the 2FA Verification.md file you created in the previous step, such as 2FA owner vouch: /path/to/2FA Verification.md/.
2. A link to the customer’s account management project.

Usage (for GitLab Support)

If a 2FA ticket is opened by an organization that has had this workflow configured for them, perform the following steps to process the request depending on whether or not the customer has a shared Slack channel with us.

Note: 2FA removal for the user is approved by the Customer via the 2FA Verification template. This means the Customer will confirm with the User having 2FA removed and not support.

1. Create Issue

Open a new issue in the issue tracker of the customer’s account verification project using the 2FA Verification template and follow all instructions within it. A link to this template should be in the notes for the organization in Zendesk.

2. Contact Through Slack (skip if no shared Slack channel)

Within the customer’s shared Slack channel with us, use the template below to alert them to the fact that a new 2FA disable request exists in their account management issue tracker. Be sure to replace the following variables:
- SLACK_USERNAME - The Slack handle of a user that is authorized to allow GitLab Support to disable 2FA for the customer’s user accounts. If there are more than one, add them as well.
- ISSUE_LINK - The URL of the 2FA reset issue created on the shared project
  
  Notify Customer - Slack
  
  Hi `SLACK_USERNAME` - we've received a request from one of your users to disable 2FA on their account.
  Could you vouch for them by following the steps in this issue: `ISSUE_LINK`?
  Once you've done that, please let me know. If you don't get to this within 24 hours, we'll use our standard account verification procedures to determine if they're eligible for a 2FA reset.

Note: If the customer has created an issue using the 2FA Verification template themselves and sent us a Zendesk ticket with a link to it, skip this step.

3. Wait For Authorization

Wait for the customer to comment on the issue and approve the request to disable 2FA.

As stressed in the Slack notification template, we will wait for the customer’s answer for 24 hours. If no response is received by then, regular 2FA verification will take place via the challenges workflow.

4. Disable 2FA

Once the customer has approved the request, disable 2FA on the user’s account, add an Admin Note on the user’s account, and then close both the support ticket and issue.

Peer review is not required. You may make the change yourself.

Account Ownership Changes

This section has been moved to the Account Changes workflow.

Last modified March 27, 2024: Change shortcode to plain links (7db9c423)

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