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Microsoft Entra ID escalation from Global Administrator to User Access Administrator

azure

Classification:

attack

Tactic:

TA0004-privilege-escalation

Technique:

T1098-account-manipulation

Goal

Detect when a Global Administrator elevates their Microsoft Entra ID permissions to User Access Administrator in Azure RBAC. This may indicate an attacker with Microsoft Entra ID privileges is seeking to gain control over Azure resources.

Strategy

Monitor Microsoft Entra ID audit logs for the following events:

  • User has elevated their access to User Access Administrator for their Azure Resources

Triage and Response

  1. Verify if this activity is associated with expected administrator activities.
  2. If not, investigate activity by the account associated with this alert ({{@usr.id}}) around the time of this event, including any permissions modifications made to Azure RBAC assignments.