ID | Technique | Tactic |
---|---|---|
T1136.003 | Cloud Account | Persistence |
Detection: O365 Multiple Service Principals Created by User
Description
The following analytic identifies instances where a single user creates more than three unique OAuth applications within a 10-minute window in the Office 365 environment. It leverages O365 logs from the Unified Audit Log, focusing on the 'Add service principal' operation in Azure Active Directory. This activity is significant as it may indicate a compromised user account or unauthorized actions, potentially leading to broader network infiltration or privilege escalation. If confirmed malicious, this behavior could allow attackers to gain persistent access, escalate privileges, or exfiltrate sensitive information.
Search
1`o365_management_activity` Workload=AzureActiveDirectory Operation="Add service principal."
2| bucket span=10m _time
3| eval len=mvcount('Actor{}.ID')
4| eval userType = mvindex('Actor{}.ID',len-1)
5| search userType = "User"
6| eval displayName = object
7| stats count earliest(_time) as firstTime latest(_time) as lastTime values(displayName) as displayName dc(displayName) as unique_apps by src_user
8| where unique_apps > 3
9| `security_content_ctime(firstTime)`
10| `security_content_ctime(lastTime)`
11| `o365_multiple_service_principals_created_by_user_filter`
Data Source
Name | Platform | Sourcetype | Source |
---|---|---|---|
O365 Add service principal. | N/A | 'o365:management:activity' |
'o365' |
Macros Used
Name | Value |
---|---|
o365_management_activity | sourcetype=o365:management:activity |
o365_multiple_service_principals_created_by_user_filter | search * |
o365_multiple_service_principals_created_by_user_filter
is an empty macro by default. It allows the user to filter out any results (false positives) without editing the SPL.
Annotations
Default Configuration
This detection is configured by default in Splunk Enterprise Security to run with the following settings:
Setting | Value |
---|---|
Disabled | true |
Cron Schedule | 0 * * * * |
Earliest Time | -70m@m |
Latest Time | -10m@m |
Schedule Window | auto |
Creates Risk Event | True |
Implementation
You must install the Splunk Microsoft Office 365 Add-on and ingest Office 365 management activity events.
Known False Positives
Certain users or applications may create multiple service principals in a short period of time for legitimate purposes. Filter as needed.
Associated Analytic Story
Risk Based Analytics (RBA)
Risk Message | Risk Score | Impact | Confidence |
---|---|---|---|
Multiple OAuth applications were created by $src_user$ in a short period of time | 42 | 70 | 60 |
References
Detection Testing
Test Type | Status | Dataset | Source | Sourcetype |
---|---|---|---|---|
Validation | ✅ Passing | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Unit | ✅ Passing | Dataset | o365 |
o365:management:activity |
Integration | ✅ Passing | Dataset | o365 |
o365:management:activity |
Replay any dataset to Splunk Enterprise by using our replay.py
tool or the UI.
Alternatively you can replay a dataset into a Splunk Attack Range
Source: GitHub | Version: 3