Google Workspace Admin API Client Authorization Granted to Service Accounts

Identifies Google Workspace domain-level authorization of an API client via admin.googleapis.com audit events.

FreeReviewedSigma · Medium · v4

Product: gcp
Service: google_workspace.admin
Author: Austin Songer (SigmaHQ), DRL 1.1
Published: 2021-08-23
Updated: 2026-07-31

ATT&CK techniques

Persistence → Priv Esc

Recon
Resource Dev
Initial Access
Execution
Persistence
- T1098Account Manipulation
Priv Esc
- T1098Account Manipulation
Defense Evasion
Cred Access
Discovery
Lateral Movement
Collection
C2
Exfiltration
Impact

What it detects

This rule identifies Google Workspace Admin audit events where an API client (service account) is authorized with domain-wide access. Granting domain authority can enable attackers to access user or administrative data through authorized APIs and can be used for persistence. It relies on GCP Google Workspace Admin audit logs capturing events from admin.googleapis.com with eventName AUTHORIZE_API_CLIENT_ACCESS.

Reporting behind it

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Google Workspace Admin API Client Authorization Granted to Service Accounts

Pivot detection · T1098 · 9 related

Changelog

v4
Candidate ingested via manual entry.2026-07-31
v3
Candidate ingested via manual entry.2026-07-31
v2
Candidate ingested via manual entry.2026-07-31
v1
No changelog recorded for this version.2026-07-30

Detection content is published as a reviewed draft. Tune thresholds and exclusions against your own telemetry before enabling this rule for alerting.

gcp-google-workspace-admin-api-client-access-authorized-at-domain-level-04e2a23a

title: Google Workspace Admin API Client Authorization Granted to Service Accounts
id: a3d4949e-3bac-4446-bb4f-723a7db9086b
status: test
description: This rule identifies Google Workspace Admin audit events where an API client (service account) is authorized with domain-wide access. Granting domain authority can enable attackers to access user or administrative data through authorized APIs and can be used for persistence. It relies on GCP Google Workspace Admin audit logs capturing events from admin.googleapis.com with eventName AUTHORIZE_API_CLIENT_ACCESS.
references:
  - https://cloud.google.com/logging/docs/audit/gsuite-audit-logging#3
  - https://developers.google.com/admin-sdk/reports/v1/appendix/activity/admin-domain-settings#AUTHORIZE_API_CLIENT_ACCESS
  - https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/master/rules/cloud/gcp/gworkspace/admin/gcp_gworkspace_granted_domain_api_access.yml
author: Austin Songer, Huntrule Team
date: 2021-08-23
modified: 2023-10-11
tags:
  - attack.privilege-escalation
  - attack.persistence
  - attack.t1098
logsource:
  product: gcp
  service: google_workspace.admin
detection:
  selection:
    eventService: admin.googleapis.com
    eventName: AUTHORIZE_API_CLIENT_ACCESS
  condition: selection
falsepositives:
  - Unknown
level: medium
license: DRL-1.1
related:
  - id: 04e2a23a-9b29-4a5c-be3a-3542e3f982ba
    type: derived

Convert

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