Suspicious Azure VM Extension Write for Credential Reset via Activity Log

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 detects Azure Compute virtual machine extension write operations, the activity abused by the VMAccess password reset technique where an attacker supplies an arbitrary caller-controlled extension name to evade name-based detections. Adversaries use this to reset local credentials and gain persistent access to a VM. Unexpected extension writes on sensitive machines should be reviewed as account manipulation.

Reporting behind it

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Suspicious Azure VM Extension Write for Credential Reset via Activity Log

Pivot detection · T1098 · 9 related

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

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