splunk_escuTTP

Azure AD AzureHound UserAgent Detected

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.

Detection Query

`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`

Author

Dean Luxton

Data Sources

Azure Active Directory NonInteractiveUserSignInLogsAzure Active Directory MicrosoftGraphActivityLogs

References

Raw Content

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/
drilldown_searches:
    - name: View the detection results for - "$user$"
      search: '%original_detection_search% | search  user = "$user$"'
      earliest_offset: $info_min_time$
      latest_offset: $info_max_time$
    - name: View risk events for the last 7 days for - "$user$"
      search: '| from datamodel Risk.All_Risk | search normalized_risk_object IN ("$user$") | stats count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime values(search_name) as "Search Name" values(risk_message) as "Risk Message" values(analyticstories) as "Analytic Stories" values(annotations._all) as "Annotations" values(annotations.mitre_attack.mitre_tactic) as "ATT&CK Tactics" by normalized_risk_object | `security_content_ctime(firstTime)` | `security_content_ctime(lastTime)`'
      earliest_offset: 7d
      latest_offset: "0"
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
tests:
    - name: True Positive Test
      attack_data:
        - data: https://media.githubusercontent.com/media/splunk/attack_data/master/datasets/attack_techniques/T1087.004/azurehound/azurehound.log
          sourcetype: azure:monitor:aad
          source: Azure AD
      test_type: unit