Azure Serverless Script Execution

Severity: informational
Log types: Azure.MonitorActivity
Tags: AZT404, AZT404.3, AZT302, AZT302.1, AZT302.2, AZT302.3, AZT302.4, Execution, Command and Scripting Interpreter, Cloud Administration Command
Reference: https://microsoft.github.io/Azure-Threat-Research-Matrix/Execution/AZT302/AZT302/
Source: github.com/panther-labs/panther-analysis

Detects when serverless resources execute PowerShell or Python scripts through Azure Automation runbook jobs or Azure Function Apps. Adversaries may abuse access to serverless resources to execute commands with inherited permissions from managed identities, RunAs accounts, or hybrid worker groups.

MITRE ATT&CK coverage

Tactic	Techniques
Execution	`T1059` Command and Scripting Interpreter, `T1651` Cloud Administration Command

Rule body yaml

AnalysisType: rule
Filename: azure_serverless_execution.py
RuleID: "Azure.MonitorActivity.Automation.ServerlessExecution"
DisplayName: "Azure Serverless Script Execution"
Enabled: true
LogTypes:
  - Azure.MonitorActivity
Severity: Info
Description: >
  Detects when serverless resources execute PowerShell or Python scripts through Azure Automation
  runbook jobs or Azure Function Apps. Adversaries may abuse access to serverless resources to
  execute commands with inherited permissions from managed identities, RunAs accounts, or hybrid
  worker groups.
Reports:
  MITRE ATT&CK:
    - TA0002:T1059 # Execution: Command and Scripting Interpreter
    - TA0002:T1651 # Execution: Cloud Administration Command
Tags:
  - AZT404
  - AZT404.3
  - AZT302
  - AZT302.1
  - AZT302.2
  - AZT302.3
  - AZT302.4
  - Execution
  - Command and Scripting Interpreter
  - Cloud Administration Command
Runbook: |
  1. Query Azure Monitor Activity logs for all automation and function app execution operations by the callerIpAddress in the 24 hours before and after the alert to identify patterns of serverless execution
  2. Find all runbook or function app creation/modification activities by the same callerIpAddress in the 6 hours before the alert to determine if this is part of a setup-then-execute attack pattern
  3. Check if the callerIpAddress has executed runbook jobs or function apps in the past 90 days to establish if this is typical administrative activity or anomalous behavior
Reference: https://microsoft.github.io/Azure-Threat-Research-Matrix/Execution/AZT302/AZT302/
SummaryAttributes:
  - resourceId
  - callerIpAddress
  - correlationId
Tests:
  - Name: Automation Runbook Job Executed
    ExpectedResult: true
    Log:
      {
        "time": "2025-12-22T10:30:00.0000000Z",
        "resourceId": "/subscriptions/12345678-1234-1234-1234-123456789abc/resourceGroups/automation-rg/providers/Microsoft.Automation/automationAccounts/MyAutomationAccount/jobs/a1b2c3d4-e5f6-7890-abcd-ef1234567890",
        "operationName": "MICROSOFT.AUTOMATION/AUTOMATIONACCOUNTS/JOBS/WRITE",
        "operationVersion": "2021-06-22",
        "category": "Administrative",
        "resultType": "Success",
        "resultSignature": "200",
        "callerIpAddress": "1.1.1.1",
        "correlationId": "a1b2c3d4-e5f6-7890-abcd-ef1234567890",
        "level": "Informational",
        "location": "eastus",
        "tenantId": "87654321-4321-4321-4321-111111111111"
      }
  - Name: Runbook Job Case Insensitive
    ExpectedResult: true
    Log:
      {
        "time": "2025-12-22T11:15:00.0000000Z",
        "resourceId": "/subscriptions/11111111-1111-1111-1111-111111111111/resourceGroups/prod-automation/providers/Microsoft.Automation/automationAccounts/ProdAccount/jobs/b2c3d4e5-f6a7-8901-bcde-f23456789012",
        "operationName": "microsoft.automation/automationaccounts/jobs/write",
        "category": "Administrative",
        "resultType": "Succeeded",
        "callerIpAddress": "2.2.2.2",
        "correlationId": "b2c3d4e5-f6a7-8901-bcde-f23456789012",
        "level": "Information",
        "location": "westeurope",
        "tenantId": "22222222-2222-2222-2222-222222222222"
      }
  - Name: Function App Execution
    ExpectedResult: true
    Log:
      {
        "time": "2025-12-22T12:00:00.0000000Z",
        "resourceId": "/subscriptions/22222222-2222-2222-2222-222222222222/resourceGroups/function-rg/providers/Microsoft.Web/sites/myFunctionApp",
        "operationName": "MICROSOFT.WEB/SITES/HOSTRUNTIME/HOST/ACTION",
        "category": "Administrative",
        "resultType": "Success",
        "callerIpAddress": "3.3.3.3",
        "correlationId": "c3d4e5f6-a7b8-9012-cdef-222222222222",
        "level": "Informational",
        "location": "centralus",
        "tenantId": "22222222-2222-2222-2222-222222222222"
      }
  - Name: Function App Case Insensitive
    ExpectedResult: true
    Log:
      {
        "time": "2025-12-22T13:00:00.0000000Z",
        "resourceId": "/subscriptions/33333333-3333-3333-3333-333333333333/resourceGroups/apps-rg/providers/Microsoft.Web/sites/prodFunctionApp",
        "operationName": "microsoft.web/sites/hostruntime/host/action",
        "category": "Administrative",
        "resultType": "Succeeded",
        "callerIpAddress": "4.4.4.4",
        "correlationId": "d4e5f6a7-b8c9-0123-def0-333333333333",
        "level": "Information",
        "location": "westus",
        "tenantId": "33333333-3333-3333-3333-333333333333"
      }
  - Name: Failed Runbook Job Execution
    ExpectedResult: false
    Log:
      {
        "time": "2025-12-22T14:00:00.0000000Z",
        "resourceId": "/subscriptions/44444444-4444-4444-4444-444444444444/resourceGroups/automation-rg/providers/Microsoft.Automation/automationAccounts/TestAccount/jobs/e5f6a7b8-c9d0-1234-ef01-444444444444",
        "operationName": "MICROSOFT.AUTOMATION/AUTOMATIONACCOUNTS/JOBS/WRITE",
        "category": "Administrative",
        "resultType": "Failed",
        "resultSignature": "403",
        "callerIpAddress": "5.5.5.5",
        "correlationId": "e5f6a7b8-c9d0-1234-ef01-444444444444",
        "level": "Error",
        "location": "eastus2",
        "tenantId": "44444444-4444-4444-4444-444444444444"
      }
  - Name: Failed Function App Execution
    ExpectedResult: false
    Log:
      {
        "time": "2025-12-22T15:00:00.0000000Z",
        "resourceId": "/subscriptions/55555555-5555-5555-5555-555555555555/resourceGroups/apps-rg/providers/Microsoft.Web/sites/testFunctionApp",
        "operationName": "MICROSOFT.WEB/SITES/HOSTRUNTIME/HOST/ACTION",
        "category": "Administrative",
        "resultType": "Failed",
        "resultSignature": "403",
        "callerIpAddress": "6.6.6.6",
        "correlationId": "f6a7b8c9-d0e1-2345-f012-555555555555",
        "level": "Error",
        "location": "northeurope",
        "tenantId": "55555555-5555-5555-5555-555555555555"
      }
  - Name: Different Operation
    ExpectedResult: false
    Log:
      {
        "time": "2025-12-22T17:00:00.0000000Z",
        "resourceId": "/subscriptions/77777777-7777-7777-7777-777777777777/resourceGroups/apps-rg/providers/Microsoft.Web/sites/myApp",
        "operationName": "MICROSOFT.WEB/SITES/READ",
        "category": "Administrative",
        "resultType": "Success",
        "callerIpAddress": "8.8.8.8",
        "correlationId": "b8c9d0e1-f2a3-4567-1234-777777777777",
        "tenantId": "77777777-7777-7777-7777-777777777777"
      }

Detection logic

Condition

resultType in ["Success", "Succeeded"]

This rule also runs imperative logic the parser cannot express as a filter; the conditions above are the structured part it could extract.

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
`resultType`	in	`Succeeded` `Success`

`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
`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)