Activate session validation context

task australia Updated Sep 10, 2026 1 min read activate-session-validation-context.md

Use session validation context to restrict access to ServiceNow® when hijackers copy a user's session cookies from one device to another to impersonate the session or restrict the user's session access if they’re using an insecure network.

Before you begin

Role required: adaptive_auth_admin

To use the session validation, you must perform the following steps:

Procedure

Navigate to All > Adaptive Authentication > Authentication Policies > All Policies.
Select the Session Validation Policy in the Policies (sys_authentication_policy_list.do) page.
Specify the Policy Inputs and Policy Conditions.
Set the conditions to true or false for the filters that you’ve added.
Select the Active check box to activate the policy after you set up the Session Validation Policy with policy inputs and conditions.
Select a Force AuthnRequest check box for the default identity provider in the sso_properties table if the instance has SSO configured.
Navigate to All > Adaptive Authentication > Authentication Policies > Properties.
Set the system property session.validation.enabled to Yes.

[Omitted image "session-context.png"] Alt text: Session Validation

Result

The Session Validation feature is activated. You can configure the policy inputs and conditions for the policy to use the feature. To learn more, see Configure session validation.

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---
title: Activate session validation context
description: Use session validation context to restrict access to ServiceNow when hijackers copy a user's session cookies from one device to another to impersonate the session or restrict the user's session access if they’re using an insecure network.
locale: en-US
canonical_url: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/australia/platform-security/authentication/activate-session-validation-context.html
release: australia
product: Authentication
classification: authentication
topic_type: task
last_updated: "2026-09-10"
reading_time_minutes: 1
breadcrumb: [Session validation context, Authentication policy contexts, Adaptive authentication, Authentication, Access Management]
---

# Activate session validation context

## Before you begin

Role required: adaptive\_auth\_admin

To use the session validation, you must perform the following steps:

## Procedure

1. Navigate to **All** &gt; **Adaptive Authentication** &gt; **Authentication Policies** &gt; **All Policies**.

2. Select the **Session Validation Policy** in the Policies \(`sys_authentication_policy_list.do`\) page.

3. Specify the **Policy Inputs** and **Policy Conditions**.

4. Set the conditions to **true** or **false** for the filters that you’ve added.

5. Select the **Active** check box to activate the policy after you set up the Session Validation Policy with policy inputs and conditions.

6. Select a **Force AuthnRequest** check box for the default identity provider in the sso\_properties table if the instance has SSO configured.

7. Navigate to **All** &gt; **Adaptive Authentication** &gt; **Authentication Policies** &gt; **Properties**.

8. Set the system property `session.validation.enabled` to **Yes**.

\[Omitted image "session-context.png"\] Alt text: Session Validation

## Result

The Session Validation feature is activated. You can configure the policy inputs and conditions for the policy to use the feature. To learn more, see [Configure session validation](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/platform-security/authentication/use-ip-session-context.md).