Sensitive Azure Key Vault operations

Status: available
Severity: low
Time window: 1d
Group by: Resource, ResourceType, ResultType, clientInfo_s, identity_claim_http_schemas_microsoft_com_identity_claims_objectidentifier_g, identity_claim_upn_s
Source: github.com/Azure/Azure-Sentinel

'Identifies when sensitive Azure Key Vault operations are used. This includes: VaultDelete, KeyDelete, SecretDelete, SecretPurge, KeyPurge, SecretBackup, KeyBackup. Any Backup operations should match with expected scheduled backup activity.'

MITRE ATT&CK coverage

Tactic	Techniques
Impact	`T1485` Data Destruction

Rules detecting the same action

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

Azure Key Vault access TimeSeries anomaly (Kusto)
NRT Sensitive Azure Key Vault operations (Kusto)

Rule body kusto

id: d6491be0-ab2d-439d-95d6-ad8ea39277c5
name: Sensitive Azure Key Vault operations
description: |
  'Identifies when sensitive Azure Key Vault operations are used. This includes: VaultDelete, KeyDelete, SecretDelete, SecretPurge, KeyPurge, SecretBackup, KeyBackup.
  Any Backup operations should match with expected scheduled backup activity.'
severity: Low
status: Available
requiredDataConnectors:
  - connectorId: AzureKeyVault
    dataTypes:
      - KeyVaultData
queryFrequency: 1d
queryPeriod: 1d
triggerOperator: gt
triggerThreshold: 0
tactics:
  - Impact
relevantTechniques:
  - T1485
query: |
  let SensitiveOperationList = dynamic(
  ["VaultDelete", "KeyDelete", "SecretDelete", "SecretPurge", "KeyPurge", "SecretBackup", "KeyBackup"]);
  AzureDiagnostics
  | extend ResultType = column_ifexists("ResultType", "NoResultType"), 
  requestUri_s = column_ifexists("requestUri_s", "None"), 
  identity_claim_oid_g = column_ifexists("identity_claim_oid_g", "None"), CallerIPAddress = column_ifexists("CallerIPAddress", "None"), 
  clientInfo_s = column_ifexists("clientInfo_s", "None"), 
  identity_claim_upn_s = column_ifexists("identity_claim_upn_s", "None"),
  identity_claim_http_schemas_microsoft_com_identity_claims_objectidentifier_g = column_ifexists("identity_claim_http_schemas_microsoft_com_identity_claims_objectidentifier_g", "None")
  | where ResourceType =~ "VAULTS" and ResultType =~ "Success"
  | where OperationName in~ (SensitiveOperationList)
  | summarize EventCount=count(), StartTimeUtc=min(TimeGenerated), EndTimeUtc=max(TimeGenerated), TimeTriggered=make_list(TimeGenerated),OperationNameList=make_set(OperationName), RequestURLList=make_set(requestUri_s), CallerIPList = make_set(CallerIPAddress),  CallerIPMax= arg_max(CallerIPAddress,*) by ResourceType, ResultType, Resource, identity_claim_upn_s, clientInfo_s, identity_claim_http_schemas_microsoft_com_identity_claims_objectidentifier_g
  | extend timestamp = StartTimeUtc
  | extend Name = tostring(split(identity_claim_upn_s,'@',0)[0]), UPNSuffix = tostring(split(identity_claim_upn_s,'@',1)[0]), AadUserId = identity_claim_http_schemas_microsoft_com_identity_claims_objectidentifier_g 
entityMappings:
  - entityType: Account
    fieldMappings:
      - identifier: AadUserId
        columnName: AadUserId
      - identifier: Name
        columnName: Name
      - identifier: UPNSuffix
        columnName: UPNSuffix
  - entityType: IP
    fieldMappings:
      - identifier: Address
        columnName: CallerIPMax
version: 1.0.4
kind: Scheduled

Stages and Predicates

Let binding: `SensitiveOperationList`

let SensitiveOperationList = dynamic(
["VaultDelete", "KeyDelete", "SecretDelete", "SecretPurge", "KeyPurge", "SecretBackup", "KeyBackup"]);

Stage 1: `source`

AzureDiagnostics

Stage 2: `extend`

| extend ResultType = column_ifexists("ResultType", "NoResultType"), 
requestUri_s = column_ifexists("requestUri_s", "None"), 
identity_claim_oid_g = column_ifexists("identity_claim_oid_g", "None"), CallerIPAddress = column_ifexists("CallerIPAddress", "None"), 
clientInfo_s = column_ifexists("clientInfo_s", "None"), 
identity_claim_upn_s = column_ifexists("identity_claim_upn_s", "None"),
identity_claim_http_schemas_microsoft_com_identity_claims_objectidentifier_g = column_ifexists("identity_claim_http_schemas_microsoft_com_identity_claims_objectidentifier_g", "None")

Stage 3: `where`

| where ResourceType =~ "VAULTS" and ResultType =~ "Success"

Stage 4: `where`

| where OperationName in~ (SensitiveOperationList)

References SensitiveOperationList (defined above).

Stage 5: `summarize`

| summarize EventCount=count(), StartTimeUtc=min(TimeGenerated), EndTimeUtc=max(TimeGenerated), TimeTriggered=make_list(TimeGenerated),OperationNameList=make_set(OperationName), RequestURLList=make_set(requestUri_s), CallerIPList = make_set(CallerIPAddress),  CallerIPMax= arg_max(CallerIPAddress,*) by ResourceType, ResultType, Resource, identity_claim_upn_s, clientInfo_s, identity_claim_http_schemas_microsoft_com_identity_claims_objectidentifier_g

Stage 6: `extend`

| extend timestamp = StartTimeUtc

Stage 7: `extend`

| extend Name = tostring(split(identity_claim_upn_s,'@',0)[0]), UPNSuffix = tostring(split(identity_claim_upn_s,'@',1)[0]), AadUserId = identity_claim_http_schemas_microsoft_com_identity_claims_objectidentifier_g

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`	in	`KeyBackup` `KeyDelete` `KeyPurge` `SecretBackup` `SecretDelete` `SecretPurge` `VaultDelete`
`ResourceType`	eq	`VAULTS`
`ResultType`	eq	`Success`

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
`CallerIPList`	`summarize`
`CallerIPMax`	`summarize`
`EndTimeUtc`	`summarize`
`EventCount`	`summarize`
`OperationNameList`	`summarize`
`RequestURLList`	`summarize`
`Resource`	`summarize`
`ResourceType`	`summarize`
`ResultType`	`summarize`
`StartTimeUtc`	`summarize`
`TimeTriggered`	`summarize`
`clientInfo_s`	`summarize`
`identity_claim_http_schemas_microsoft_com_identity_claims_objectidentifier_g`	`summarize`
`identity_claim_upn_s`	`summarize`
`timestamp`	`extend`
`AadUserId`	`extend`
`Name`	`extend`
`UPNSuffix`	`extend`

`j` / `k`	Scroll down / up
`d` / `u`	Half-page down / up
`gg` / `G`	Top / bottom
`h` / `l`	History back / forward
`f`	Follow link (`Shift` = new tab)
`/`	Focus search
`?`	Toggle this help
`↑` / `↓`	Navigate search results
`Enter`	Open highlighted result
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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)

Sensitive Azure Key Vault operations

MITRE ATT&CK coverage

Rules detecting the same action

Rule body kusto

Stages and Predicates

Let binding: `SensitiveOperationList`

Stage 1: `source`

Stage 2: `extend`

Stage 3: `where`

Stage 4: `where`

Stage 5: `summarize`

Stage 6: `extend`

Stage 7: `extend`

Indicators

Output fields

Keyboard shortcuts

Search operators

Sensitive Azure Key Vault operations

MITRE ATT&CK coverage

Rules detecting the same action

Rule body kusto

Stages and Predicates

Let binding: SensitiveOperationList

Stage 1: source

Stage 2: extend

Stage 3: where

Stage 4: where

Stage 5: summarize

Stage 6: extend

Stage 7: extend

Indicators

Output fields

Let binding: `SensitiveOperationList`

Stage 1: `source`

Stage 2: `extend`

Stage 3: `where`

Stage 4: `where`

Stage 5: `summarize`

Stage 6: `extend`

Stage 7: `extend`