Suspicious Microsoft 365 Mail Access by Unusual ClientAppId

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Suspicious Microsoft 365 Mail Access by Unusual ClientAppId

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Identifies suspicious Microsoft 365 mail access by ClientAppId. This rule detects when a user accesses their mailbox using a client application that is not typically used by the user, which may indicate potential compromise or unauthorized access attempts. Adversaries may use custom or third-party applications to access mailboxes, bypassing standard security controls. First-party Microsoft applications are also abused after OAuth tokens are compromised, allowing adversaries to access mailboxes without raising suspicion.

Rule type: new_terms

Rule indices:

  • filebeat-*
  • logs-o365.audit-*

Severity: medium

Risk score: 47

Runs every: 5m

Searches indices from: now-9m (Date Math format, see also Additional look-back time)

Maximum alerts per execution: 100

References:

Tags:

  • Domain: Cloud
  • Domain: Email
  • Data Source: Microsoft 365
  • Data Source: Microsoft 365 Audit Logs
  • Use Case: Threat Detection
  • Tactic: Collection
  • Resources: Investigation Guide

Version: 111

Rule authors:

  • Elastic

Rule license: Elastic License v2

Investigation guide

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Triage and Analysis

Investigating Suspicious Microsoft 365 Mail Access by Unusual ClientAppId

This rule detects when a user accesses their mailbox using a client application that is not typically used by the user, which may indicate potential compromise or unauthorized access attempts. Adversaries may use custom or third-party applications to access mailboxes, bypassing standard security controls. First-party Microsoft applications are also abused after OAuth tokens are compromised, allowing adversaries to access mailboxes without raising suspicion.

Possible investigation steps

  • Review the o365.audit.UserId field to identify the user associated with the mailbox access.
  • Check the o365.audit.ClientAppId field to determine which client application was used for the mailbox access. Look for unusual or unexpected applications or determine which first-party Microsoft applications are being abused.
  • Review o365.audit.ClientInfoString to gather additional information about the client application used for the mailbox access.
  • Examine o365.audit.Folders.Path to identify the specific mailbox folders accessed by the client application. This can help determine if sensitive information was accessed or if the access was legitimate.
  • Ensure that o365.audit.MailboxOwnerUPN matches the o365.audit.UserId to confirm that the mailbox accessed belongs to the user identified in the o365.audit.UserId field.
  • Review geolocation information to identify the location from which the mailbox access occurred. Look for any anomalies or unexpected locations that may indicate suspicious activity.
  • Examine o365.audit.Folders.FolderItems.Id to identify the specific items accessed within the mailbox folders. This can help determine if sensitive information was accessed or if the access was legitimate.

False positive analysis

  • Legitimate users may access their mailboxes using new or different client applications, such as when switching to a new email client or using a mobile application. If this is expected behavior, consider adjusting the rule or adding exceptions for specific users or client applications.
  • Users may access their mailboxes using custom or third-party applications that are authorized by the organization, such as CRM or ERP systems. If this is expected behavior, consider adjusting the rule or adding exceptions for specific applications.

Response and remediation

  • If the mailbox access is confirmed to be suspicious or unauthorized, take immediate action to revoke the access token and prevent further access.
  • Disable the user account temporarily to prevent any potential compromise or unauthorized access.
  • Examine the sensitivity of the mailbox data accessed and determine if any sensitive information was compromised.
  • Rotate the user’s credentials and enforce multi-factor authentication (MFA) to prevent further unauthorized access.
  • Review the conditional access policies in place to ensure they are sufficient to prevent unauthorized access to sensitive resources.

Rule query

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event.dataset: "o365.audit" and
    event.provider: "Exchange" and
    event.category: "web" and
    event.action: "MailItemsAccessed" and
    event.outcome: "success" and
    o365.audit.LogonType: ("0" or "1" or "6") and
    o365.audit.UserType: ("0" or "2" or "3" or "10") and
    o365.audit.OperationProperties.Value: "Bind" and
    not o365.audit.ClientAppId : (
        "00000002-0000-0000-c000-000000000000" or "00000002-0000-0ff1-ce00-000000000000" or
        "00000003-0000-0ff1-ce00-000000000000" or "00000004-0000-0ff1-ce00-000000000000" or
        "00000005-0000-0ff1-ce00-000000000000" or "00000006-0000-0ff1-ce00-000000000000" or
        "00000007-0000-0000-c000-000000000000" or "00000007-0000-0ff1-ce00-000000000000" or
        "00000009-0000-0000-c000-000000000000" or "0000000c-0000-0000-c000-000000000000" or
        "00000012-0000-0000-c000-000000000000" or "00000015-0000-0000-c000-000000000000" or
        "0000001a-0000-0000-c000-000000000000" or "00b41c95-dab0-4487-9791-b9d2c32c80f2" or
        "022907d3-0f1b-48f7-badc-1ba6abab6d66" or "04b07795-8ddb-461a-bbee-02f9e1bf7b46" or
        "08543e9e-5b1f-4af5-8228-cb5a5c9d4e24" or "08e18876-6177-487e-b8b5-cf950c1e598c" or
        "0cb7b9ec-5336-483b-bc31-b15b5788de71" or "0cd196ee-71bf-4fd6-a57c-b491ffd4fb1e" or
        "0f698dd4-f011-4d23-a33e-b36416dcb1e6" or "1150aefc-07de-4228-b2b2-042a536703c0" or
        "11ba4a52-3159-44e1-93cd-d18e9443e3ef" or "13937bba-652e-4c46-b222-3003f4d1ff97" or
        "13937bba-652e-4c46-b222-3003f4d1ff97" or "13937bba-652e-4c46-b222-3003f4d1ff97" or
        "14d82eec-204b-4c2f-b7e8-296a70dab67e" or "157cdfbf-7398-4a56-96c3-e93e9ab309b5" or
        "16aeb910-ce68-41d1-9ac3-9e1673ac9575" or "1786c5ed-9644-47b2-8aa0-7201292175b6" or
        "17d5e35f-655b-4fb0-8ae6-86356e9a49f5" or "18fbca16-2224-45f6-85b0-f7bf2b39b3f3" or
        "1950a258-227b-4e31-a9cf-717495945fc2" or "1b3c667f-cde3-4090-b60b-3d2abd0117f0" or
        "1fec8e78-bce4-4aaf-ab1b-5451cc387264" or "1fec8e78-bce4-4aaf-ab1b-5451cc387264" or
        "20a11fe0-faa8-4df5-baf2-f965f8f9972e" or "23523755-3a2b-41ca-9315-f81f3f566a95" or
        "243c63a3-247d-41c5-9d83-7788c43f1c43" or "268761a2-03f3-40df-8a8b-c3db24145b6b" or
        "26a7ee05-5602-4d76-a7ba-eae8b7b67941" or "26a7ee05-5602-4d76-a7ba-eae8b7b67941" or
        "26abc9a8-24f0-4b11-8234-e86ede698878" or "27922004-5251-4030-b22d-91ecd9a37ea4" or
        "27922004-5251-4030-b22d-91ecd9a37ea4" or "27b9c0f2-3d8e-4a1c-8b6f-5d7a0c6e1f2b" or
        "28b567f6-162c-4f54-99a0-6887f387bbcc" or "29d9ed98-a469-4536-ade2-f981bc1d605e" or
        "2abdc806-e091-4495-9b10-b04d93c3f040" or "2cee05de-2b8f-45a2-8289-2a06ca32c4c8" or
        "2d4d3d8e-2be3-4bef-9f87-7875a61c29de" or "2d7f3606-b07d-41d1-b9d2-0d0c9296a6e8" or
        "2fd64745-b008-3e7d-4903-15d43e60f62a" or "3090ab82-f1c1-4cdf-af2c-5d7a6f3e2cc7" or
        "35d54a08-36c9-4847-9018-93934c62740c" or "37182072-3c9c-4f6a-a4b3-b3f91cacffce" or
        "38049638-cc2c-4cde-abe4-4479d721ed44" or "3c896ded-22c5-450f-91f6-3d1ef0848f6e" or
        "43375d74-c6a5-4d4e-a0a3-de139860ea75" or "4345a7b9-9a63-4910-a426-35363201d503" or
        "45a330b1-b1ec-4cc1-9161-9f03992aa49f" or "464e0e4d-676a-4c3b-9f81-2ed9b2a9acd2" or
        "4765445b-32c6-49b0-83e6-1d93765276ca" or "497effe9-df71-4043-a8bb-14cf78c4b63b" or
        "4b233688-031c-404b-9a80-a4f3f2351f90" or "4d5c2d63-cf83-4365-853c-925fd1a64357" or
        "51be292c-a17e-4f17-9a7e-4b661fb16dd2" or "5572c4c0-d078-44ce-b81c-6cbf8d3ed39e" or
        "5d661950-3475-41cd-a2c3-d671a3162bc1" or "5e3ce6c0-2b1f-4285-8d4b-75ee78787346" or
        "60c8bde5-3167-4f92-8fdb-059f6176dc0f" or "61109738-7d2b-4a0b-9fe3-660b1ff83505" or
        "62256cef-54c0-4cb4-bcac-4c67989bdc40" or "6253bca8-faf2-4587-8f2f-b056d80998a7" or
        "6326e366-9d6d-4c70-b22a-34c7ea72d73d" or "65d91a3d-ab74-42e6-8a2f-0add61688c74" or
        "66a88757-258c-4c72-893c-3e8bed4d6899" or "67e3df25-268a-4324-a550-0de1c7f97287" or
        "69893ee3-dd10-4b1c-832d-4870354be3d8" or "74658136-14ec-4630-ad9b-26e160ff0fc6" or
        "74bcdadc-2fdc-4bb3-8459-76d06952a0e9" or "75efb5bc-18a1-4e7b-8a66-2ad2503d79c6" or
        "75f31797-37c9-498e-8dc9-53c16a36afca" or "797f4846-ba00-4fd7-ba43-dac1f8f63013" or
        "7ab7862c-4c57-491e-8a45-d52a7e023983" or "7ae974c5-1af7-4923-af3a-fb1fd14dcb7e" or
        "7b7531ad-5926-4f2d-8a1d-38495ad33e17" or "7fba38f4-ec1f-458d-906c-f4e3c4f41335" or
        "80ccca67-54bd-44ab-8625-4b79c4dc7775" or "82d8ab62-be52-a567-14ea-1616c4ee06c4" or
        "835b2a73-6e10-4aa5-a979-21dfda45231c" or "871c010f-5e61-4fb1-83ac-98610a7e9110" or
        "89bee1f7-5e6e-4d8a-9f3d-ecd601259da7" or "8acd33ea-7197-4a96-bc33-d7cc7101262f" or
        "8edd93e1-2103-40b4-bd70-6e34e586362d" or "905fcf26-4eb7-48a0-9ff0-8dcc7194b5ba" or
        "9199bf20-a13f-4107-85dc-02114787ef48" or "9199bf20-a13f-4107-85dc-02114787ef48" or
        "91ca2ca5-3b3e-41dd-ab65-809fa3dffffa" or "93625bc8-bfe2-437a-97e0-3d0060024faa" or
        "93d53678-613d-4013-afc1-62e9e444a0a5" or "944f0bd1-117b-4b1c-af26-804ed95e767e" or
        "94c63fef-13a3-47bc-8074-75af8c65887a" or "95de633a-083e-42f5-b444-a4295d8e9314" or
        "97cb1f73-50df-47d1-8fb0-0271f2728514" or "98db8bd6-0cc0-4e67-9de5-f187f1cd1b41" or
        "99b904fd-a1fe-455c-b86c-2f9fb1da7687" or "9ea1ad79-fdb6-4f9a-8bc3-2b70f96e34c7" or
        "9fd38622-d9b4-4401-b1b9-1ce14c5e435a" or "a3475900-ccec-4a69-98f5-a65cd5dc5306" or
        "a3883eba-fbe9-48bd-9ed3-dca3e0e84250" or "a3883eba-fbe9-48bd-9ed3-dca3e0e84250" or
        "a3b79187-70b2-4139-83f9-6016c58cd27b" or "a40d7d7d-59aa-447e-a655-679a4107e548" or
        "a57aca87-cbc0-4f3c-8b9e-dc095fdc8978" or "a970bac6-63fe-4ec5-8884-8536862c42d4" or
        "a9b49b65-0a12-430b-9540-c80b3332c127" or "ab9b8c07-8f02-4f72-87fa-80105867a763" or
        "ae8e128e-080f-4086-b0e3-4c19301ada69" or "b23dd4db-9142-4734-867f-3577f640ad0c" or
        "b4bddae8-ab25-483e-8670-df09b9f1d0ea" or "b669c6ea-1adf-453f-b8bc-6d526592b419" or
        "b6e69c34-5f1f-4c34-8cdf-7fea120b8670" or "bb2a2e3a-c5e7-4f0a-88e0-8e01fd3fc1f4" or
        "bdd48c81-3a58-4ea9-849c-ebea7f6b6360" or "c1c74fed-04c9-4704-80dc-9f79a2e515cb" or
        "c35cb2ba-f88b-4d15-aa9d-37bd443522e1" or "c44b4083-3bb0-49c1-b47d-974e53cbdf3c" or
        "c9a559d2-7aab-4f13-a6ed-e7e9c52aec87" or "cc15fd57-2c6c-4117-a88c-83b1d56b4bbe" or
        "cf36b471-5b44-428c-9ce7-313bf84528de" or "cf53fce8-def6-4aeb-8d30-b158e7b1cf83" or
        "d176f6e7-38e5-40c9-8a78-3998aab820e7" or "d34dcd43-8519-44e4-827c-de79b767da47" or
        "d3590ed6-52b3-4102-aeff-aad2292ab01c" or "d3590ed6-52b3-4102-aeff-aad2292ab01c" or
        "d3590ed6-52b3-4102-aeff-aad2292ab01c" or "d396de1f-10d4-4023-aae2-5bb3d724ba9a" or
        "d71dfe16-1070-48f3-bd3a-c3ec919d34e7" or "d73f4b35-55c9-48c7-8b10-651f6f2acb2e" or
        "d9b8ec3a-1e4e-4e08-b3c2-5baf00c0fcb0" or "de8bc8b5-d9f9-48b1-a8ad-b748da725064" or
        "dfe74da8-9279-44ec-8fb2-2aed9e1c73d0" or "e1ef36fd-b883-4dbf-97f0-9ece4b576fc6" or
        "e64aa8bc-8eb4-40e2-898b-cf261a25954f" or "e9b154d0-7658-433b-bb25-6b8e0a8a7c59" or
        "e9f49c6b-5ce5-44c8-925d-015017e9f7ad" or "ee272b19-4411-433f-8f28-5c13cb6fd407" or
        "eed83176-464d-48c7-a887-cc5cc534c7b8" or "f5eaa862-7f08-448c-9c4e-f4047d4d4521" or
        "f8d98a96-0999-43f5-8af3-69971c7bb423" or "fb78d390-0c51-40cd-8e17-fdbfab77341b" or
        "fc0f3af4-6835-4174-b806-f7db311fd2f3" or "fdf9885b-dd37-42bf-82e5-c3129ef5a302" or
        "ffcb16e8-f789-467c-8ce9-f826a080d987"
    )

Framework: MITRE ATT&CKTM