Detection rules › Kusto
Multiple admin membership removals from newly created admin.
This query detects when newly created Global admin removes multiple existing global admins which can be an attempt by adversaries to lock down organization and retain sole access. Investigate reasoning and intention of multiple membership removal by new Global admins and take necessary actions accordingly.
MITRE ATT&CK coverage
| Tactic | Techniques |
|---|---|
| Impact |
Telemetry coverage
| Platform | Record / event type |
|---|---|
| Azure | any: Entra ID audit event (any operation) |
Rules detecting the same action
These rules filter on the same operation.
- [Entra ID] Application Assigned Administrator Permissions Immediately After Obtaining Role Management Permissions (Kusto)
- [Entra ID] Mass Privileged Role Change Activity Detected (Kusto)
- [Entra ID] Privilege Elevation Request Denied (Kusto)
- [Entra ID] Privileged Role Assigned to a New User (Kusto)
- [Entra ID] Privileged Role Assigned to User (Kusto)
- Account Elevated to New Role (Kusto)
- Admin promotion after Role Management Application Permission Grant (Kusto)
- App Assigned To Azure RBAC/Microsoft Entra Role (Sigma)
Rule body
id: cda5928c-2c1e-4575-9dfa-07568bc27a4f
name: Multiple admin membership removals from newly created admin.
description: |
'This query detects when newly created Global admin removes multiple existing global admins which can be an attempt by adversaries to lock down organization and retain sole access.
Investigate reasoning and intention of multiple membership removal by new Global admins and take necessary actions accordingly.'
severity: Medium
requiredDataConnectors:
- connectorId: AzureActiveDirectory
dataTypes:
- AuditLogs
queryFrequency: 1h
queryPeriod: 7d
triggerOperator: gt
triggerThreshold: 0
status: Available
tactics:
- Impact
relevantTechniques:
- T1531
tags:
- DEV-0537
query: |
let lookback = 7d;
let timeframe = 1h;
let GlobalAdminsRemoved = AuditLogs
| where TimeGenerated > ago(timeframe)
| where Category =~ "RoleManagement"
| where AADOperationType in ("Unassign", "RemoveEligibleRole")
| where ActivityDisplayName has_any ("Remove member from role", "Remove eligible member from role")
| mv-apply TargetResource = TargetResources on
(
where TargetResource.type =~ "User"
| extend Target = tostring(TargetResource.userPrincipalName),
props = TargetResource.modifiedProperties
)
| mv-apply Property = props on
(
where Property.displayName =~ "Role.DisplayName"
| extend RoleName = trim('"',tostring(Property.oldValue))
)
| where RoleName =~ "Global Administrator" // Add other Privileged role if applicable
| 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(iff(isnotempty(InitiatedBy.user.ipAddress), InitiatedBy.user.ipAddress, InitiatedBy.app.ipAddress))
| extend Initiator = iif(isnotempty(InitiatingAppName), InitiatingAppName, InitiatingUserPrincipalName)
| where Initiator != "MS-PIM" and Initiator != "MS-PIM-Fairfax" // Filtering PIM events
| summarize RemovedGlobalAdminTime = max(TimeGenerated), TargetAdmins = make_set(Target,100) by OperationName, RoleName, Initiator, InitiatingAppName, InitiatingAppServicePrincipalId, InitiatingUserPrincipalName, InitiatingAadUserId, InitiatingIpAddress, Result;
let GlobalAdminsAdded = AuditLogs
| where TimeGenerated > ago(lookback)
| where Category =~ "RoleManagement"
| where AADOperationType in ("Assign", "AssignEligibleRole")
| where ActivityDisplayName has_any ("Add eligible member to role", "Add member to role") and Result == "success"
| mv-apply TargetResource = TargetResources on
(
where TargetResource.type =~ "User"
| extend Target = tostring(TargetResource.userPrincipalName),
props = TargetResource.modifiedProperties
)
| mv-apply Property = props on
(
where Property.displayName =~ "Role.DisplayName"
| extend RoleName = trim('"',tostring(Property.newValue))
)
| where RoleName =~ "Global Administrator" // Add other Privileged role if applicable
| extend InitiatingAppName = tostring(InitiatedBy.app.displayName)
| extend Initiator = iif(isnotempty(InitiatingAppName), InitiatingAppName, tostring(InitiatedBy.user.userPrincipalName))
| where Initiator != "MS-PIM" and Initiator != "MS-PIM-Fairfax" // Filtering PIM events
| summarize AddedGlobalAdminTime = max(TimeGenerated) by OperationName, RoleName, Target, Initiator, Result;
GlobalAdminsAdded
| join kind= inner GlobalAdminsRemoved on $left.Target == $right.Initiator
| where AddedGlobalAdminTime < RemovedGlobalAdminTime
| extend NoofAdminsRemoved = array_length(TargetAdmins)
| where NoofAdminsRemoved > 1
| project AddedGlobalAdminTime, Initiator, InitiatingAppName, InitiatingAppServicePrincipalId, InitiatingUserPrincipalName, InitiatingAadUserId, InitiatingIpAddress, Target, RemovedGlobalAdminTime, TargetAdmins, NoofAdminsRemoved
| extend TargetName = tostring(split(Target,'@',0)[0]), TargetUPNSuffix = tostring(split(Target,'@',1)[0])
| extend InitiatedByName = tostring(split(InitiatingUserPrincipalName,'@',0)[0]), InitiatedByUPNSuffix = tostring(split(InitiatingUserPrincipalName,'@',1)[0])
entityMappings:
- entityType: Account
fieldMappings:
- identifier: FullName
columnName: Target
- identifier: Name
columnName: TargetName
- identifier: UPNSuffix
columnName: TargetUPNSuffix
- entityType: Account
fieldMappings:
- identifier: FullName
columnName: InitiatingUserPrincipalName
- identifier: Name
columnName: InitiatedByName
- identifier: UPNSuffix
columnName: InitiatedByUPNSuffix
- entityType: Account
fieldMappings:
- identifier: AadUserId
columnName: InitiatingAadUserId
- entityType: Account
fieldMappings:
- identifier: AadUserId
columnName: InitiatingAppServicePrincipalId
- entityType: IP
fieldMappings:
- identifier: Address
columnName: InitiatingIpAddress
version: 1.0.3
kind: Scheduled
Stages and Predicates
Parameters
let lookback = 7d;
let timeframe = 1h;
let GlobalAdminsAdded is inlined into the numbered stages below.
Let binding: GlobalAdminsRemoved
let GlobalAdminsRemoved = AuditLogs
| where TimeGenerated > ago(timeframe)
| where Category =~ "RoleManagement"
| where AADOperationType in ("Unassign", "RemoveEligibleRole")
| where ActivityDisplayName has_any ("Remove member from role", "Remove eligible member from role")
| mv-apply TargetResource = TargetResources on
(
where TargetResource.type =~ "User"
| extend Target = tostring(TargetResource.userPrincipalName),
props = TargetResource.modifiedProperties
)
| mv-apply Property = props on
(
where Property.displayName =~ "Role.DisplayName"
| extend RoleName = trim('"',tostring(Property.oldValue))
)
| where RoleName =~ "Global Administrator"
| 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(iff(isnotempty(InitiatedBy.user.ipAddress), InitiatedBy.user.ipAddress, InitiatedBy.app.ipAddress))
| extend Initiator = iif(isnotempty(InitiatingAppName), InitiatingAppName, InitiatingUserPrincipalName)
| where Initiator != "MS-PIM" and Initiator != "MS-PIM-Fairfax"
| summarize RemovedGlobalAdminTime = max(TimeGenerated), TargetAdmins = make_set(Target,100) by OperationName, RoleName, Initiator, InitiatingAppName, InitiatingAppServicePrincipalId, InitiatingUserPrincipalName, InitiatingAadUserId, InitiatingIpAddress, Result;
Stages 1 to 12 define let GlobalAdminsAdded (the rule's main pipeline source); stages 13 to 19 run on it.
Stage 1: source
AuditLogs
Stage 2: where
| where TimeGenerated > ago(lookback)
Stage 3: where
| where Category =~ "RoleManagement"
Stage 4: where
| where AADOperationType in ("Assign", "AssignEligibleRole")
Stage 5: where
| where ActivityDisplayName has_any ("Add eligible member to role", "Add member to role") and Result == "success"
Stage 6: kusto:mv-apply
| mv-apply TargetResource = TargetResources on
(
where TargetResource.type =~ "User"
| extend Target = tostring(TargetResource.userPrincipalName),
props = TargetResource.modifiedProperties
)
Stage 7: kusto:mv-apply
| mv-apply Property = props on
(
where Property.displayName =~ "Role.DisplayName"
| extend RoleName = trim('"',tostring(Property.newValue))
)
Stage 8: where
| where RoleName =~ "Global Administrator"
Stage 9: extend
| extend InitiatingAppName = tostring(InitiatedBy.app.displayName)
Stage 10: extend
| extend Initiator = iif(isnotempty(InitiatingAppName), InitiatingAppName, tostring(InitiatedBy.user.userPrincipalName))
Stage 11: where
| where Initiator != "MS-PIM" and Initiator != "MS-PIM-Fairfax"
Stage 12: summarize
| summarize AddedGlobalAdminTime = max(TimeGenerated) by OperationName, RoleName, Target, Initiator, Result
Stage 13: join
GlobalAdminsAdded
| join kind= inner GlobalAdminsRemoved on $left.Target == $right.Initiator
Stage 14: where
| where AddedGlobalAdminTime < RemovedGlobalAdminTime
Stage 15: extend
| extend NoofAdminsRemoved = array_length(TargetAdmins)
Stage 16: where
| where NoofAdminsRemoved > 1
Stage 17: project
| project AddedGlobalAdminTime, Initiator, InitiatingAppName, InitiatingAppServicePrincipalId, InitiatingUserPrincipalName, InitiatingAadUserId, InitiatingIpAddress, Target, RemovedGlobalAdminTime, TargetAdmins, NoofAdminsRemoved
Stage 18: extend
| extend TargetName = tostring(split(Target,'@',0)[0]), TargetUPNSuffix = tostring(split(Target,'@',1)[0])
Stage 19: extend
| extend InitiatedByName = tostring(split(InitiatingUserPrincipalName,'@',0)[0]), InitiatedByUPNSuffix = tostring(split(InitiatingUserPrincipalName,'@',1)[0])
Indicators
These rows show field, operator, and value matches.
| Field | Kind | Values | Search |
|---|---|---|---|
AADOperationType | in |
| field:"AADOperationType" kind:in |
ActivityDisplayName | match |
| field:"azure_ad::activity_display_name" kind:match |
AddedGlobalAdminTime | cross_field_compare |
| field:"AddedGlobalAdminTime" kind:cross_field_compare value:"RemovedGlobalAdminTime" |
Category | eq |
| field:"Category" kind:eq value:"RoleManagement" |
Initiator | ne |
| field:"Initiator" kind:ne |
NoofAdminsRemoved | gt |
| field:"NoofAdminsRemoved" kind:gt value:"1" |
Result | eq |
| field:"Result" kind:eq value:"success" |
RoleName | eq |
| field:"RoleName" kind:eq value:"Global Administrator" |
displayName | eq |
| field:"displayName" kind:eq value:"Role.DisplayName" |
type | eq |
| field:"type" kind:eq value:"User" |
Output fields
These fields are emitted when the rule matches.
| Field | Source |
|---|---|
AddedGlobalAdminTime | project |
InitiatingAadUserId | project |
InitiatingAppName | project |
InitiatingAppServicePrincipalId | project |
InitiatingIpAddress | project |
InitiatingUserPrincipalName | project |
Initiator | project |
NoofAdminsRemoved | project |
RemovedGlobalAdminTime | project |
Target | project |
TargetAdmins | project |
TargetName | extend |
TargetUPNSuffix | extend |
InitiatedByName | extend |
InitiatedByUPNSuffix | extend |