Posture check · Workload and agent identity
Credential added to a third-party app's service principal (T1098.001)
A credential was added in your tenant to the service principal of an app another organization owns, or of an app whose owner Microsoft Entra doesn't name.
Why it matters
A vendor's app keeps its credentials in the vendor's own tenant, so a credential on its service principal in your tenant was added here. It lets whoever added it sign in as the app, even after the vendor rotates its own secret.
How GraphnAI finds it
It runs after every sync, on each connected domain or tenant on its own. It applies to Microsoft Entra ID.
It reads:
- The directory attributes
servicePrincipalType,keyCredentials,passwordCredentials,credentialsInheritedFromApp,appOwnerOrganizationId,appOwnerClassandverifiedPublisher - 4 more GraphnAI analyses
Tiered Fidelity™ level: Theoretical
Every finding from this check carries the Theoretical level.
- TheoreticalThis checkConfigured in the directory. Nothing else checked.
- ConstrainedA constraint on it has been checked.
- ValidatedTelemetry has seen it in use.
Why there's no automatic fix
Removing a service principal's credential, or disabling the service principal, is done in Microsoft Entra.
How to fix it
Disable the service principal. Don't delete it: deleting removes consent, and the vendor's app would need to be consented again. A credential was added to this vendor app's service principal in your tenant, and vendor apps keep their credentials in the vendor's own tenant, so this is a common backdoor. Find out who added it and when, then remove it, and review other credentials added to this vendor's apps since then. Remove permissions and admin roles you didn't grant, then contact the vendor and check its security advisories for this app.
Related checks
MITRE ATT&CK® technique names and MITRE D3FEND™ technique labels: © The MITRE Corporation. This work is reproduced and distributed with the permission of The MITRE Corporation. ATT&CK® is a registered trademark and D3FEND™ a trademark of The MITRE Corporation.
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