Application Redirect URL Update

Severity: medium
Time window: 1d
Author: Microsoft Security Research
Source: github.com/Azure/Azure-Sentinel

Detects the redirect URL of an app being changed. Applications associated with URLs not controlled by the organization can pose a security risk. Ref: https://docs.microsoft.com/azure/active-directory/fundamentals/security-operations-applications#application-configuration-changes

MITRE ATT&CK coverage

Tactic	Techniques
Persistence	`T1078.004` Valid Accounts: Cloud Accounts
Privilege Escalation	`T1078.004` Valid Accounts: Cloud Accounts

Event coverage

Provider	Event
Entra-AuditLogs	Update application

Rules detecting the same action

Other rules on this platform that filter on the same API call or operation.

Admin promotion after Role Management Application Permission Grant (Kusto)
Application ID URI Changed (Kusto)
Changes to Application Logout URL (Kusto)
Changes to Application Ownership (Kusto)
full_access_as_app Granted To Application (Kusto)
Mail.Read Permissions Granted to Application (Kusto)
Microsoft Entra ID Role Management Permission Grant (Kusto)
Suspicious application consent for offline access (Kusto)

Rule body kusto

id: a1080fc1-13d1-479b-8340-255f0290d96c
name: Application Redirect URL Update
description: |
  'Detects the redirect URL of an app being changed.
    Applications associated with URLs not controlled by the organization can pose a security risk.
    Ref: https://docs.microsoft.com/azure/active-directory/fundamentals/security-operations-applications#application-configuration-changes'
severity: Medium
requiredDataConnectors:
  - connectorId: AzureActiveDirectory
    dataTypes:
      - AuditLogs
queryFrequency: 1d
queryPeriod: 1d
triggerOperator: gt
triggerThreshold: 0
tactics:
  - Persistence
  - PrivilegeEscalation
relevantTechniques:
  - T1078.004
tags:
  - AADSecOpsGuide
query: |
  AuditLogs
    | where Category =~ "ApplicationManagement"
    | where Result =~ "success"
    | where OperationName =~ 'Update Application'
    | where TargetResources has "AppAddress"
    | mv-expand TargetResources
    | mv-expand TargetResources.modifiedProperties
    | where TargetResources_modifiedProperties.displayName =~ "AppAddress"
    | extend Key = tostring(TargetResources_modifiedProperties.displayName)
    | extend NewValue = TargetResources_modifiedProperties.newValue
    | extend OldValue = TargetResources_modifiedProperties.oldValue
    | where isnotempty(Key) and isnotempty(NewValue)
    | project-reorder Key, NewValue, OldValue
    | extend NewUrls = extract_all('"Address":([^,]*)', tostring(NewValue))
    | extend OldUrls = extract_all('"Address":([^,]*)', tostring(OldValue))
    | extend AddedUrls = set_difference(NewUrls, OldUrls)
    | where array_length(AddedUrls) > 0
    | extend UserAgent = iif(tostring(AdditionalDetails[0].key) == "User-Agent", tostring(AdditionalDetails[0].value), "")
    | extend InitiatingAppName = tostring(InitiatedBy.app.displayName)
    | extend InitiatingAppServicePrincipalId = tostring(InitiatedBy.app.servicePrincipalId)
    | extend InitiatingUserPrincipalName = tostring(InitiatedBy.user.userPrincipalName)
    | extend InitiatingAadUserId = tostring(InitiatedBy.user.id)
    | extend InitiatingIPAddress = tostring(InitiatedBy.user.ipAddress)
    | extend AddedBy = iif(isnotempty(InitiatingUserPrincipalName), InitiatingUserPrincipalName, InitiatingAppName)
    | extend TargetAppName = tostring(TargetResources.displayName)
    | extend InitiatingAccountName = tostring(split(InitiatingUserPrincipalName, "@")[0]), InitiatingAccountUPNSuffix = tostring(split(InitiatingUserPrincipalName, "@")[1])
    | project-reorder TimeGenerated, TargetAppName, InitiatingAppName, InitiatingAppServicePrincipalId, InitiatingUserPrincipalName, InitiatingAadUserId, InitiatingIPAddress, AddedUrls, AddedBy, UserAgent
entityMappings:
  - entityType: URL
    fieldMappings:
      - identifier: Url
        columnName: AddedUrls
  - entityType: Account
    fieldMappings:
      - identifier: FullName
        columnName: InitiatingUserPrincipalName
      - identifier: Name
        columnName: InitiatingAccountName
      - identifier: UPNSuffix
        columnName: InitiatingAccountUPNSuffix
  - entityType: Account
    fieldMappings:
      - identifier: AadUserId
        columnName: InitiatingAadUserId
  - entityType: Account
    fieldMappings:
      - identifier: AadUserId
        columnName: InitiatingAppServicePrincipalId
  - entityType: IP
    fieldMappings:
      - identifier: Address
        columnName: InitiatingIPAddress
version: 1.1.1
kind: Scheduled
metadata:
    source:
        kind: Community
    author:
        name: Microsoft Security Research
    support:
        tier: Community
    categories:
        domains: [ "Security - Others" ]

Stages and Predicates

Stage 1: `source`

AuditLogs

Stage 2: `where`

| where Category =~ "ApplicationManagement"

Stage 3: `where`

| where Result =~ "success"

Stage 4: `where`

| where OperationName =~ 'Update Application'

Stage 5: `where`

| where TargetResources has "AppAddress"

Stage 6: `mv-expand`

| mv-expand TargetResources

Stage 7: `mv-expand`

| mv-expand TargetResources.modifiedProperties

Stage 8: `where`

| where TargetResources_modifiedProperties.displayName =~ "AppAddress"

Stage 9: `extend` (3 consecutive steps)

| extend Key = tostring(TargetResources_modifiedProperties.displayName)
| extend NewValue = TargetResources_modifiedProperties.newValue
| extend OldValue = TargetResources_modifiedProperties.oldValue

Stage 10: `where`

| where isnotempty(Key) and isnotempty(NewValue)

Stage 11: `project-reorder`

| project-reorder Key, NewValue, OldValue

Stage 12: `extend` (3 consecutive steps)

| extend NewUrls = extract_all('"Address":([^,]*)', tostring(NewValue))
| extend OldUrls = extract_all('"Address":([^,]*)', tostring(OldValue))
| extend AddedUrls = set_difference(NewUrls, OldUrls)

Stage 13: `where`

| where array_length(AddedUrls) > 0

Stage 14: `extend` (9 consecutive steps)

| extend UserAgent = iif(tostring(AdditionalDetails[0].key) == "User-Agent", tostring(AdditionalDetails[0].value), "")
| extend InitiatingAppName = tostring(InitiatedBy.app.displayName)
| extend InitiatingAppServicePrincipalId = tostring(InitiatedBy.app.servicePrincipalId)
| extend InitiatingUserPrincipalName = tostring(InitiatedBy.user.userPrincipalName)
| extend InitiatingAadUserId = tostring(InitiatedBy.user.id)
| extend InitiatingIPAddress = tostring(InitiatedBy.user.ipAddress)
| extend AddedBy = iif(isnotempty(InitiatingUserPrincipalName), InitiatingUserPrincipalName, InitiatingAppName)
| extend TargetAppName = tostring(TargetResources.displayName)
| extend InitiatingAccountName = tostring(split(InitiatingUserPrincipalName, "@")[0]), InitiatingAccountUPNSuffix = tostring(split(InitiatingUserPrincipalName, "@")[1])

Stage 15: `project-reorder`

| project-reorder TimeGenerated, TargetAppName, InitiatingAppName, InitiatingAppServicePrincipalId, InitiatingUserPrincipalName, InitiatingAadUserId, InitiatingIPAddress, AddedUrls, AddedBy, UserAgent

Indicators

Each row is a field, operator, and value that the rule matches. The corpus column counts how many other rules in the catalog look for the same combination: high numbers point to widely-used, community-vetted indicators. Blank or 1 shows that the indicator is specific to this rule.

Field	Kind	Values
`AddedUrls`	gt	`0` transforms: `array_length`
`Category`	eq	`ApplicationManagement`
`Key`	is_not_null	(no value, null check)
`NewValue`	is_not_null	(no value, null check)
`OperationName`	eq	`Update Application`
`Result`	eq	`success`
`TargetResources`	match	`AppAddress` transforms: `term`
`displayName`	eq	`AppAddress`

Output fields

Fields the rule emits when it matches. Chronicle authors list these in the outcome block; they appear on the detection and $risk_score drives alerting. Sentinel / Defender XDR rules build them up through project / summarize / extend stages. Sentinel maps these into alert fields via entityMappings and customDetails; Defender XDR custom detections surface them as alert fields directly.

Field	Source
`Key`	`extend`
`NewValue`	`extend`
`OldValue`	`extend`
`NewUrls`	`extend`
`OldUrls`	`extend`
`AddedUrls`	`extend`
`UserAgent`	`extend`
`InitiatingAppName`	`extend`
`InitiatingAppServicePrincipalId`	`extend`
`InitiatingUserPrincipalName`	`extend`
`InitiatingAadUserId`	`extend`
`InitiatingIPAddress`	`extend`
`AddedBy`	`extend`
`TargetAppName`	`extend`
`InitiatingAccountName`	`extend`
`InitiatingAccountUPNSuffix`	`extend`

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`f`	Follow link (`Shift` = new tab)
`/`	Focus search
`?`	Toggle this help
`↑` / `↓`	Navigate search results
`Enter`	Open highlighted result
`Esc`	Close results / dialog

`type:`	`events` / `rules` / `providers`
`vendor:`	`sigma` / `elastic` / `splunk` / `kusto` / `chronicle` (vendor name alone also works: `sigma:`, `kql:`, `secops:`…)
`tactic:`	TA-id, slug, or name: `credential_access`, `TA0006`
`technique:`	technique or sub-technique ID: `T1003`, `T1003.001` (alias `tech:`)
`severity:`	`critical` / `high` / `medium` / `low` / `informational` (alias `sev:`)
`risk_score`	Numeric comparison on the Elastic risk score (0 to 100): `risk_score>50`, `risk_score<=20`, `risk_score=99` (alias `risk`; Elastic rules only)
`stages:`	Rules with exactly N pipeline stages
`correlation:`	`single_event` / `sequence` / `alternatives` / `alternatives_cross_log` / `all_required` / `correlated`
`with:`	Co-occurrence event-id; stacks (`with:4624 with:4769`) to require all, while a comma list in one occurrence (`with:4624,4769`) is an either-or group. Implies multi-event
`like:`	Structural neighbors of a rule slug (equivalents + subsumption stricter / broader): `like:comsvcs_lsass_memory_dump-splunk-sysmon`
`groupby:`	Entity-grouping substring match against `group_by_keys`: `groupby:user`, `groupby:host`
`uses:`	Rules whose predicate tree touches the field (any kind, any value): `uses:CommandLine`
`excludes:`	Rules with top-level `not()` clauses on the field (FP whitelists): `excludes:ParentImage`
`field:` / `value:`	Predicate search; narrows rule cards to those with a matching leaf and drives the indicator tier. Unquoted = substring, wildcards allowed (`value:mimikatz`)
`indicator:`	Shorthand for `field:F value:V`: `indicator:Image=*\powershell.exe`
`kind:`	Filter by predicate kind. Narrows rule cards to those carrying a matching predicate leaf (`vendor:elastic kind:cidr_match`) and drives the indicator tier: `contains` / `starts_with` / `ends_with` / `regex` / `cidr` / `eq` / `in` … (operator aliases `op:`/`match:`)
`has:` / `no:`	`sample`, `field`, `notes`, `refs`, `trace`, `thirdparty`, `rule`, `pattern`, `timewindow`, `threshold`, `newterms`, `sigma`/`elastic`/`splunk`/`kusto`/`chronicle`
`-op:val`	Exclude matches; works on most operators but not `type:`/`like:`/`has:`/`no:` (use `no:<flag>` to exclude a rule flag): `tactic:execution -vendor:splunk`. Standalone `-kind:`/`-field:`/`-value:` drop every rule carrying a matching predicate leaf (`type:rules -kind:is_null`)
`field:"…"` / `value:"…"`	Quoted value = anchored exact match (also allows spaces): `value:"net user"`
`a,b`	Comma = OR inside one operator (`vendor:sigma,elastic`, `severity:high,critical`); repeating a facet merges the same way. `field:`/`value:` never split (literal commas)
`vendors:` / `stage:`	Singular and plural spellings fold to the canonical operator and value: `tactics:` = `tactic:`, `type:event` = `type:events`, `correlation:sequences` = `correlation:sequence`, `has:thresholds` = `has:threshold`
`"quoted phrase"`	Exact-match a multi-word phrase (free text)

Application Redirect URL Update

MITRE ATT&CK coverage

Event coverage

Rules detecting the same action

Rule body kusto

Stages and Predicates

Stage 1: `source`

Stage 2: `where`

Stage 3: `where`

Stage 4: `where`

Stage 5: `where`

Stage 6: `mv-expand`

Stage 7: `mv-expand`

Stage 8: `where`

Stage 9: `extend` (3 consecutive steps)

Stage 10: `where`

Stage 11: `project-reorder`

Stage 12: `extend` (3 consecutive steps)

Stage 13: `where`

Stage 14: `extend` (9 consecutive steps)

Stage 15: `project-reorder`

Indicators

Output fields

Keyboard shortcuts

Search operators

Application Redirect URL Update

MITRE ATT&CK coverage

Event coverage

Rules detecting the same action

Rule body kusto

Stages and Predicates

Stage 1: source

Stage 2: where

Stage 3: where

Stage 4: where

Stage 5: where

Stage 6: mv-expand

Stage 7: mv-expand

Stage 8: where

Stage 9: extend (3 consecutive steps)

Stage 10: where

Stage 11: project-reorder

Stage 12: extend (3 consecutive steps)

Stage 13: where

Stage 14: extend (9 consecutive steps)

Stage 15: project-reorder

Indicators

Output fields

Stage 1: `source`

Stage 2: `where`

Stage 3: `where`

Stage 4: `where`

Stage 5: `where`

Stage 6: `mv-expand`

Stage 7: `mv-expand`

Stage 8: `where`

Stage 9: `extend` (3 consecutive steps)

Stage 10: `where`

Stage 11: `project-reorder`

Stage 12: `extend` (3 consecutive steps)

Stage 13: `where`

Stage 14: `extend` (9 consecutive steps)

Stage 15: `project-reorder`