Suspicious Microsoft 365 UserLoggedIn via OAuth Code
editSuspicious Microsoft 365 UserLoggedIn via OAuth Code
editIdentifies sign-ins on behalf of a principal user to the Microsoft Graph API from multiple IPs using the Microsoft Authentication Broker or Visual Studio Code application. This behavior may indicate an adversary using a phished OAuth refresh token.
Rule type: esql
Rule indices: None
Severity: high
Risk score: 73
Runs every: 5m
Searches indices from: now-1h (Date Math format, see also Additional look-back time
)
Maximum alerts per execution: 100
References:
Tags:
- Domain: Cloud
- Data Source: Microsoft 365
- Use Case: Identity and Access Audit
- Use Case: Threat Detection
- Resources: Investigation Guide
- Tactic: Defense Evasion
Version: 1
Rule authors:
- Elastic
Rule license: Elastic License v2
Investigation guide
editTriage and analysis
Investigating Suspicious Microsoft 365 UserLoggedIn via OAuth Code
Possible Investigation Steps:
-
o365.audit.UserId
: The identity value the application is acting on behalf of principal user. -
unique_ips
: Analyze the list of unique IP addresses used within the 30-minute window. Determine whether these originate from different geographic regions, cloud providers, or anonymizing infrastructure (e.g., Tor or VPNs). -
target_time_window
: Use the truncated time window to pivot into raw events to reconstruct the full sequence of resource access events, including exact timestamps and service targets. -
azure.auditlogs
to check for device join or registration events around the same timeframe. -
azure.identityprotection
to identify correlated risk detections, such as anonymized IP access or token replay. -
Any additional sign-ins from the
ips
involved, even outside the broker, to determine if tokens have been reused elsewhere.
False Positive Analysis
- Developers or IT administrators working across environments may also produce similar behavior.
Response and Remediation
- If confirmed unauthorized, revoke all refresh tokens for the affected user and remove any devices registered during this session.
- Notify the user and determine whether the device join or authentication activity was expected.
-
Audit Conditional Access and broker permissions (
29d9ed98-a469-4536-ade2-f981bc1d605e
) to ensure policies enforce strict access controls. - Consider blocking token-based reauthentication to Microsoft Graph and DRS from suspicious locations or user agents.
- Continue monitoring for follow-on activity like lateral movement or privilege escalation.
Setup
editSetup
The Office 365 Logs Fleet integration, Filebeat module, or similarly structured data is required to be compatible with this rule.
Rule query
editfrom logs-o365.audit-default* | WHERE event.dataset == "o365.audit" and event.action == "UserLoggedIn" and source.ip is not null and o365.audit.UserId is not null and o365.audit.ApplicationId is not null and o365.audit.UserType in ("0", "2", "3", "10") and // filter for successful logon to Microsoft Graph and from the Microsoft Authentication Broker or Visual Studio Code o365.audit.ApplicationId in ("aebc6443-996d-45c2-90f0-388ff96faa56", "29d9ed98-a469-4536-ade2-f981bc1d605e") and o365.audit.ObjectId in ("00000003-0000-0000-c000-000000000000") // keep relevant fields only | keep @timestamp, o365.audit.UserId, source.ip, o365.audit.ApplicationId, o365.audit.ObjectId, o365.audit.ExtendedProperties.RequestType, source.as.organization.name, o365.audit.ExtendedProperties.ResultStatusDetail // case statements to track which are OAuth2 authorization request via redirect and which are related to OAuth2 code to token conversion | eval oauth_authorize = case(o365.audit.ExtendedProperties.RequestType == "OAuth2:Authorize" and o365.audit.ExtendedProperties.ResultStatusDetail == "Redirect", o365.audit.UserId, null), oauth_token = case(o365.audit.ExtendedProperties.RequestType == "OAuth2:Token", o365.audit.UserId, null) // split time to 30 minutes intervals | eval target_time_window = DATE_TRUNC(30 minutes, @timestamp) // aggregate by principal, applicationId, objectId and time window | stats unique_ips = COUNT_DISTINCT(source.ip), source_ips = VALUES(source.ip), appIds = VALUES(o365.audit.ApplicationId), asn = values(`source.as.organization.name`), is_oauth_token = COUNT_DISTINCT(oauth_token), is_oauth_authorize = COUNT_DISTINCT(oauth_authorize) by o365.audit.UserId, target_time_window, o365.audit.ApplicationId, o365.audit.ObjectId // filter for cases where the same appId is used by the same principal user to access the same object and from multiple addresses via OAuth2 token | where unique_ips >= 2 and is_oauth_authorize > 0 and is_oauth_token > 0
Framework: MITRE ATT&CKTM
-
Tactic:
- Name: Defense Evasion
- ID: TA0005
- Reference URL: https://attack.mitre.org/tactics/TA0005/
-
Technique:
- Name: Use Alternate Authentication Material
- ID: T1550
- Reference URL: https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1550/
-
Sub-technique:
- Name: Application Access Token
- ID: T1550.001
- Reference URL: https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1550/001/