Entra ID Service Principal Credentials Created by Unusual User

Last updated 22 days ago on 2025-12-10

Created 5 years ago on 2021-05-05

About

Identifies when new Service Principal credentials have been added in Microsoft Entra ID. In most organizations, credentials will be added to service principals infrequently. Hijacking an application (by adding a rogue secret or certificate) with granted permissions will allow the attacker to access data that is normally protected by MFA requirements.

Tags

Domain: CloudData Source: AzureData Source: Microsoft Entra IDData Source: Microsoft Entra ID Audit LogsUse Case: Identity and Access AuditTactic: PersistenceLanguage: kuery

Severity

medium

Risk Score

MITRE ATT&CK™

Persistence (TA0003)(external, opens in a new tab or window)

↳ Account Manipulation (T1098)(external, opens in a new tab or window)

False Positive Examples

Service principal credential additions may be done by a system or network administrator. Verify whether the username, hostname, and/or resource name should be making changes in your environment. Credential additions from unfamiliar users or hosts should be investigated. If known behavior is causing false positives, it can be exempted from the rule.

License

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

Definition

Rule Type: New Terms Rule
Integration Pack: Prebuilt Security Detection Rules
Index Patterns: filebeat-*logs-azure.auditlogs-*
Related Integrations: azure(external, opens in a new tab or window)
Query

✄𐘗text code block:
✄𐘗event.dataset: "azure.auditlogs"
    and azure.auditlogs.operation_name:"Add service principal credentials"
    and event.outcome: "success"

Install detection rules in Elastic Security

Detect Entra ID Service Principal Credentials Created by Unusual User 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).