Azure subscription custom administrator roles should be disabled

Warning: This rule will be deprecated 18 December 2023 as part of the update to Azure CIS version 2.0.0

Description

Subscription ownership should not include permission to create custom owner roles. The principle of least privilege should be followed and only necessary privileges should be assigned instead of allowing full administrative access.

Rationale

Classic subscription admin roles offer basic access management and include Account Administrator, Service Administrator, and Co-Administrators. It is recommended the least necessary permissions be given initially. Permissions can be added as needed by the account holder. This ensures the account holder cannot perform actions which were not intended.

Remediation

Using Azure Command Line Interface 2.0, list all roles with the az role definition list command. Check the output for any entries with an assignableScope of / or a subscription, and an action of *. Verify the usage and impact of removing the role identified. You can delete a role with the az role definition delete --name "rolename" command.

References

1. https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/billing/billing-add-change-azure-subscription-administrator
2. https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/security/benchmarks/security-controls-v2-governance-strategy#gs-2-define-enterprise-segmentation-strategy
3. https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/security/benchmarks/security-controls-v2-governance-strategy#gs-6-define-identity-and-privileged-access-strategy
4. https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/security/benchmarks/security-controls-v2-privileged-access#pa-1-protect-and-limit-highly-privileged-users
5. https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/security/benchmarks/security-controls-v2-privileged-access#pa-5-automate-entitlement-management
6. https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/security/benchmarks/security-controls-v2-privileged-access#pa-2-restrict-administrative-access-to-business-critical-systems
7. https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/security/benchmarks/security-controls-v2-governance-strategy#gs-2-define-enterprise-segmentation-strategy
8. https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/security/benchmarks/security-controls-v2-governance-strategy#gs-6-define-identity-and-privileged-access-strategy
9. https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/security/benchmarks/security-controls-v2-privileged-access#pa-7-follow-just-enough-administration-least-privilege-principle

CIS Controls

Version 7 4 Controlled Use of Administrative Privileges Controlled Use of Administrative Privileges 16 Account Monitoring and Control Account Monitoring and Control