Detection rules › Splunk

Azure AD AzureHound UserAgent Detected

Status
production
Severity
medium
Group by
aws::recipientAccountId, aws::userAgent, dest, signature, src, user, vendor_product
Author
Dean Luxton
Source
github.com/splunk/security_content

This detection identifies the presence of the default AzureHound user-agent string within Microsoft Graph Activity logs and NonInteractive SignIn Logs. AzureHound is a tool used for gathering information about Azure Active Directory environments, often employed by security professionals for legitimate auditing purposes. However, it can also be leveraged by malicious actors to perform reconnaissance activities, mapping out the Azure AD infrastructure to identify potential vulnerabilities and targets for further exploitation. Detecting its usage can help in identifying unauthorized access attempts and preemptively mitigating potential security threats to your Azure environment.

Known false positives

  • No false positives have been identified at this time.

MITRE ATT&CK coverage

Telemetry coverage

Rules detecting the same action

These rules filter on the same operation.

Rule body

name: Azure AD AzureHound UserAgent Detected
id: d62852db-a1f1-40db-a7fc-c3d56fa8bda3
version: 9
creation_date: '2025-01-05'
modification_date: '2026-05-13'
author: Dean Luxton
status: production
type: TTP
description: This detection identifies the presence of the default AzureHound user-agent string within Microsoft Graph Activity logs and NonInteractive SignIn Logs. AzureHound is a tool used for gathering information about Azure Active Directory environments, often employed by security professionals for legitimate auditing purposes. However, it can also be leveraged by malicious actors to perform reconnaissance activities, mapping out the Azure AD infrastructure to identify potential vulnerabilities and targets for further exploitation. Detecting its usage can help in identifying unauthorized access attempts and preemptively mitigating potential security threats to your Azure environment.
data_source:
    - Azure Active Directory NonInteractiveUserSignInLogs
    - Azure Active Directory MicrosoftGraphActivityLogs
search: |-
    `azure_monitor_aad` category IN (MicrosoftGraphActivityLogs, NonInteractiveUserSignInLogs) properties.userAgent=azurehound*
      | rename properties.userAgent as user_agent
      | fillnull
      | stats count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime
        BY dest user src
           vendor_account vendor_product user_agent
           signature
      | iplocation src
      | `security_content_ctime(firstTime)`
      | `security_content_ctime(lastTime)`
      | `azure_ad_azurehound_useragent_detected_filter`
how_to_implement: The Splunk Add-on for Microsoft Cloud Services add-on is required to ingest NonInteractiveUserSignInLogs and MicrosoftGraphActivityLogs via an Azure EventHub. See reference for links for further details.
known_false_positives: No false positives have been identified at this time.
references:
    - https://github.com/SpecterOps/AzureHound
    - https://splunkbase.splunk.com/app/3110
    - https://splunk.github.io/splunk-add-on-for-microsoft-cloud-services/Install/
finding:
    title: AzureHound UserAgent String $user_agent$ Detected on Tenant $dest$
    entity:
        field: user
        type: user
        score: 50
threat_objects:
    - field: src
      type: ip_address
analytic_story:
    - Azure Active Directory Privilege Escalation
    - Compromised User Account
asset_type: Azure Tenant
mitre_attack_id:
    - T1087.004
    - T1526
product:
    - Splunk Enterprise
    - Splunk Enterprise Security
    - Splunk Cloud
category: cloud
security_domain: identity

Stages and Predicates

Stage 1: search

`azure_monitor_aad` category IN (MicrosoftGraphActivityLogs, NonInteractiveUserSignInLogs) properties.userAgent=azurehound*

Stage 2: rename

| rename properties.userAgent as user_agent

Stage 3: fillnull

| fillnull

Stage 4: stats

| stats count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime
    BY dest user src
       vendor_account vendor_product user_agent
       signature

Stage 5: search

| iplocation src

Stage 6: search

| `security_content_ctime(firstTime)`

Stage 7: search

| `security_content_ctime(lastTime)`

Stage 8: search

| `azure_ad_azurehound_useragent_detected_filter`

Indicators

These rows show field, operator, and value matches.

Search terms

These SPL tokens match against raw event text.

StageTerm
5iplocation
5src