Add Owner To Application
Azure
Add Owner To Application
Event
Adds an owner to an Entra ID application registration, granting them management rights over the application.
Security Context
- Account manipulation is a primary persistence technique, allowing adversaries to maintain access through modified permissions or credentials.
Log Source
Entra ID Audit Logs
Sample Event
Adversarial. Compromised user draco@fantasticlogs.cloud adds himself as an owner of the legitimate Phoenix-Backup enterprise application. As owner he can now add new client secrets / certificates / federated credentials to the application without needing further Entra admin consent — bypassing the Application Administrator boundary. targetResources[0] is the application; targetResources[1] is the user being added as owner. The link between the two is captured in modifiedProperties.Owner on the application target resource.
{ "id": "Directory_90000000-0000-4000-8000-000001100111_4E1F2_82919011", "category": "ApplicationManagement", "correlationId": "90000000-0000-4000-8000-000001100111", "result": "success", "resultReason": "", "activityDisplayName": "Add owner to application", "activityDateTime": "2026-04-15T18:42:11.7203814Z", "loggedByService": "Core Directory", "operationType": "Add", "tenantId": "10000000-0000-4000-8000-000000000001", "initiatedBy": { "app": null, "user": { "id": "30000000-0000-4000-8000-001010011010", "displayName": "Draco Malfoy", "userPrincipalName": "draco@fantasticlogs.cloud", "ipAddress": "203.0.113.66", "userType": "Member", "homeTenantId": "10000000-0000-4000-8000-000000000001", "homeTenantName": null } }, "targetResources": [ { "id": "40000000-0000-4000-8000-000000000001", "displayName": "Phoenix-Backup", "type": "Application", "userPrincipalName": null, "groupType": null, "modifiedProperties": [ { "displayName": "Owner", "oldValue": "[]", "newValue": "[\"30000000-0000-4000-8000-001010011010\"]" }, { "displayName": "Included Updated Properties", "oldValue": null, "newValue": "\"Owner\"" } ] }, { "id": "30000000-0000-4000-8000-001010011010", "displayName": "Draco Malfoy", "type": "User", "userPrincipalName": "draco@fantasticlogs.cloud", "groupType": null, "modifiedProperties": [] } ], "additionalDetails": [ { "key": "User-Agent", "value": "python/3.11.6 (Linux-5.15.0-1052-aws-x86_64-with-glibc2.35) AZURECLI/2.56.0 (DEB)" } ]}MITRE ATT&CK Mapping
Tactics: Privilege Escalation Persistence
Techniques:
- T1098 — Account Manipulation — Adversaries may manipulate accounts to maintain and/or elevate access to victim systems. Account manipulation may consist of any action that preserves or modifies adversary access to a compromised account, such as modifying credentials or permission groups. These actions could also include accoun...