azure_ad_multiple_service_principals_created_by_sp.yml

name: Azure AD Multiple Service Principals Created by SP
id: 66cb378f-234d-4fe1-bb4c-e7878ff6b017
version: 1
date: '2024-02-07'
author: Mauricio Velazco, Splunk
data_source: 
- Azure Active Directory Add service principal
type: Anomaly
status: production
description: This detection identifies when a single service principal in Azure AD creates more than three unique OAuth applications within a 10-minute span, potentially signaling malicious activity. It monitors the 'Add service principal' operation, focusing on the activity of service principals rather than individual users. By aggregating the creation events over a 10-minute period, the analytic tracks how many distinct OAuth applications are created by each service principal. This is key for SOC teams to pinpoint potential attack staging, where an attacker might use a compromised or malicious service principal to rapidly establish multiple service principals, facilitating network infiltration or expansion. While the default threshold is set to trigger on more than three applications, security teams should adjust this to fit their specific environment's norm
search: ' `azure_monitor_aad` operationName="Add service principal" properties.initiatedBy.app.appId=*
  | rename properties.* as * 
  | bucket span=10m _time
  | rename targetResources{}.displayName as displayName
  | rename targetResources{}.type as type
  | rename initiatedBy.app.displayName as src_user
  | stats min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime values(displayName) as displayName dc(displayName) as unique_apps by src_user
  | where unique_apps > 3
  | `security_content_ctime(firstTime)` 
  | `security_content_ctime(lastTime)`
  | `azure_ad_multiple_service_principals_created_by_sp_filter`'
how_to_implement: You must install the latest version of Splunk Add-on for Microsoft
  Cloud Services from Splunkbase(https://splunkbase.splunk.com/app/3110/#/details).
  You must be ingesting Azure Active Directory events into your Splunk environment through an EventHub.
  This analytic was written to be used with the azure:monitor:aad sourcetype leveraging the AuditLogs log category.
known_false_positives: Certain users or applications may create multiple service principals in a short period of time for legitimate purposes. Filter as needed.
references:
- https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1136/003/
- https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/blog/2024/01/25/midnight-blizzard-guidance-for-responders-on-nation-state-attack/
tags:
  analytic_story:
  - Azure Active Directory Persistence
  - NOBELIUM Group
  asset_type: Azure Active Directory
  confidence: 60
  impact: 70
  message: Multiple OAuth applications were created by $src_user$ in a short period of time
  mitre_attack_id:
  - T1136.003
  observable:
  - name: src_user
    type: User
    role:
    - Victim
  product:
  - Splunk Enterprise
  - Splunk Enterprise Security
  - Splunk Cloud
  required_fields:
  - _time
  risk_score: 42
  security_domain: identity
tests:
- name: True Positive Test
  attack_data:
  - data: https://media.githubusercontent.com/media/splunk/attack_data/master/datasets/attack_techniques/T1136.003/azure_ad_multiple_service_principals_created/azure_ad_multiple_service_principals_created.log
    source: Azure AD
    sourcetype: azure:monitor:aad
    update_timestamp: true