Azure DevOps Pipeline Created and Deleted on the Same Day

Status: available
Severity: medium
Time window: 3d
Source: github.com/Azure/Azure-Sentinel

'An attacker with access to Azure DevOps could create a pipeline to inject artifacts used by other pipelines, or to create a malicious software build that looks legitimate by using a pipeline that incorporates legitimate elements. An attacker would also likely want to cover their tracks once conducting such activity. This query looks for Pipelines created and deleted within the same day, this is unlikely to be legitimate user activity in the majority of cases.'

MITRE ATT&CK coverage

Tactic	Techniques
Execution	`T1072` Software Deployment Tools

Rule body kusto

id: 17f23fbe-bb73-4324-8ecf-a18545a5dc26
name: Azure DevOps Pipeline Created and Deleted on the Same Day
description: |
  'An attacker with access to Azure DevOps could create a pipeline to inject artifacts used by other pipelines, or to create a malicious software build that looks legitimate by using a pipeline that incorporates legitimate elements. 
  An attacker would also likely want to cover their tracks once conducting such activity. This query looks for Pipelines created and deleted within the same day, this is unlikely to be legitimate user activity in the majority of cases.'
severity: Medium
status: Available
requiredDataConnectors: []
queryFrequency: 3d
queryPeriod: 3d
triggerOperator: gt
triggerThreshold: 0
tactics:
  - Execution
relevantTechniques:
  - T1072
query: |
  let timeframe = 3d;
  // Get Release Pipeline Creation Events and group by day
  ADOAuditLogs
  | where TimeGenerated > ago(timeframe)
  | where OperationName =~ "Release.ReleasePipelineCreated"
  // Group by day
  | extend timekey = bin(TimeGenerated, 1d)
  | extend PipelineId = tostring(Data.PipelineId)
  | extend PipelineName = tostring(Data.PipelineName)
  // Rename some columns to make output clearer
  | project-rename TimeCreated = TimeGenerated, CreatingUser = ActorUPN, CreatingUserAgent = UserAgent, CreatingIP = IpAddress
  // Join with Release Pipeline Deletions where Pipeline ID is the same and deletion occurred on same day as creation
  | join (ADOAuditLogs
  | where TimeGenerated > ago(timeframe)
  | where OperationName =~ "Release.ReleasePipelineDeleted"
  // Group by day
  | extend timekey = bin(TimeGenerated, 1d)
  | extend PipelineId = tostring(Data.PipelineId)
  | extend PipelineName = tostring(Data.PipelineName)
  // Rename some things to make the output clearer
  | project-rename TimeDeleted = TimeGenerated,DeletingUser = ActorUPN, DeletingUserAgent = UserAgent, DeletingIP = IpAddress) on PipelineId, timekey
  | project TimeCreated, TimeDeleted, PipelineName, PipelineId, CreatingUser, CreatingIP, CreatingUserAgent, DeletingUser, DeletingIP, DeletingUserAgent, ScopeDisplayName, ProjectName, Data, OperationName, OperationName1
  | extend timestamp = TimeCreated
  | extend CreatingUserAccountName = tostring(split(CreatingUser, "@")[0]), CreatingUserAccountUPNSuffix = tostring(split(CreatingUser, "@")[1])
  | extend DeletingUserAccountName = tostring(split(DeletingUser, "@")[0]), DeletingUserAccountUPNSuffix = tostring(split(DeletingUser, "@")[1])
entityMappings:
  - entityType: Account
    fieldMappings:
      - identifier: FullName
        columnName: CreatingUser
      - identifier: Name
        columnName: CreatingUserAccountName
      - identifier: UPNSuffix
        columnName: CreatingUserAccountUPNSuffix
  - entityType: Account
    fieldMappings:
      - identifier: FullName
        columnName: DeletingUser
      - identifier: Name
        columnName: DeletingUserAccountName
      - identifier: UPNSuffix
        columnName: DeletingUserAccountUPNSuffix
  - entityType: IP
    fieldMappings:
      - identifier: Address
        columnName: CreatingIP
  - entityType: IP
    fieldMappings:
      - identifier: Address
        columnName: DeletingIP
version: 1.0.4
kind: Scheduled

Stages and Predicates

Parameters

let timeframe = 3d;

Stage 1: `source`

ADOAuditLogs

Stage 2: `where`

| where TimeGenerated > ago(timeframe)

Stage 3: `where`

| where OperationName =~ "Release.ReleasePipelineCreated"

Stage 4: `extend` (3 consecutive steps)

| extend timekey = bin(TimeGenerated, 1d)
| extend PipelineId = tostring(Data.PipelineId)
| extend PipelineName = tostring(Data.PipelineName)

Stage 5: `project-rename`

| project-rename TimeCreated = TimeGenerated, CreatingUser = ActorUPN, CreatingUserAgent = UserAgent, CreatingIP = IpAddress

Stage 6: `join`

| join (ADOAuditLogs
| where TimeGenerated > ago(timeframe)
| where OperationName =~ "Release.ReleasePipelineDeleted"
| extend timekey = bin(TimeGenerated, 1d)
| extend PipelineId = tostring(Data.PipelineId)
| extend PipelineName = tostring(Data.PipelineName)
| project-rename TimeDeleted = TimeGenerated,DeletingUser = ActorUPN, DeletingUserAgent = UserAgent, DeletingIP = IpAddress) on PipelineId, timekey

Stage 7: `project`

| project TimeCreated, TimeDeleted, PipelineName, PipelineId, CreatingUser, CreatingIP, CreatingUserAgent, DeletingUser, DeletingIP, DeletingUserAgent, ScopeDisplayName, ProjectName, Data, OperationName, OperationName1

Stage 8: `extend` (3 consecutive steps)

| extend timestamp = TimeCreated
| extend CreatingUserAccountName = tostring(split(CreatingUser, "@")[0]), CreatingUserAccountUPNSuffix = tostring(split(CreatingUser, "@")[1])
| extend DeletingUserAccountName = tostring(split(DeletingUser, "@")[0]), DeletingUserAccountUPNSuffix = tostring(split(DeletingUser, "@")[1])

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
`OperationName`	eq	`Release.ReleasePipelineCreated` `Release.ReleasePipelineDeleted`

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
`CreatingIP`	`project`
`CreatingUser`	`project`
`CreatingUserAgent`	`project`
`Data`	`project`
`DeletingIP`	`project`
`DeletingUser`	`project`
`DeletingUserAgent`	`project`
`OperationName`	`project`
`OperationName1`	`project`
`PipelineId`	`project`
`PipelineName`	`project`
`ProjectName`	`project`
`ScopeDisplayName`	`project`
`TimeCreated`	`project`
`TimeDeleted`	`project`
`timestamp`	`extend`
`CreatingUserAccountName`	`extend`
`CreatingUserAccountUPNSuffix`	`extend`
`DeletingUserAccountName`	`extend`
`DeletingUserAccountUPNSuffix`	`extend`

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`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)

Azure DevOps Pipeline Created and Deleted on the Same Day

MITRE ATT&CK coverage

Rule body kusto

Stages and Predicates

Parameters

Stage 1: `source`

Stage 2: `where`

Stage 3: `where`

Stage 4: `extend` (3 consecutive steps)

Stage 5: `project-rename`

Stage 6: `join`

Stage 7: `project`

Stage 8: `extend` (3 consecutive steps)

Indicators

Output fields

Keyboard shortcuts

Search operators

Azure DevOps Pipeline Created and Deleted on the Same Day

MITRE ATT&CK coverage

Rule body kusto

Stages and Predicates

Parameters

Stage 1: source

Stage 2: where

Stage 3: where

Stage 4: extend (3 consecutive steps)

Stage 5: project-rename

Stage 6: join

Stage 7: project

Stage 8: extend (3 consecutive steps)

Indicators

Output fields

Stage 1: `source`

Stage 2: `where`

Stage 3: `where`

Stage 4: `extend` (3 consecutive steps)

Stage 5: `project-rename`

Stage 6: `join`

Stage 7: `project`

Stage 8: `extend` (3 consecutive steps)