Detection of Domain or Tenant Policy Modifications via AD and Identity Provider

ID: DET0270
Domains: Enterprise
Analytics: AN0755, AN0756
Version: 1.0
Created: 21 October 2025
Last Modified: 21 October 2025

Analytics

AN0755

Adversary modifies Group Policy Objects (GPOs), domain trust, or directory service objects via GUI, CLI, or programmatic APIs. Behavior includes creation/modification of GPOs, delegation permissions, trust objects, or rogue domain controller registration.

Log Sources
Data Component Name Channel
Active Directory Object Modification (DC0066) WinEventLog:Security EventCode=5136,5137,5138,5139,5141
File Modification (DC0061) WinEventLog:Security EventCode=4670
Process Creation (DC0032) WinEventLog:Sysmon EventCode=1
Mutable Elements
Field Description
ObjectDN Filter to specific AD containers (e.g., CN=Policies,CN=System,DC=domain,DC=com) for GPOs.
AttributeModified Focus on high-risk attributes such as gPCFileSysPath, ntSecurityDescriptor.
TimeWindow Correlate changes with suspicious process creation or privileged user logon.
UserContext Alert on unexpected user or service account modifying domain policy.

AN0756

Adversary modifies tenant policy through changes to federation configuration, trust settings, or identity provider additions in Microsoft 365/AzureAD via Portal, PowerShell, or Graph API. Includes setting authentication to federated or updating federated domains.

Log Sources
Data Component Name Channel
Application Log Content (DC0038) m365:unified Set federation settings on domain|Set domain authentication|Add federated identity provider
User Account Authentication (DC0002) azure:signinlogs OperationName=SetDomainAuthentication OR Set-FederatedDomain
Mutable Elements
Field Description
OperationName Identify rare modification operations that are not part of standard admin lifecycle.
InitiatedBy Filter by known administrators or service principals. Flag unknown initiators.
UserAgent Detect scripted modifications (e.g., PowerShell/Graph API vs Azure Portal).
TimeWindow Correlate tenant policy changes with new sign-ins or token forgery attempts.