Entra Connect Sync is configured with Service Principal Credentials
Overview
Section titled “Overview”Microsoft Entra Connect Sync using user accounts instead of service principals creates security vulnerabilities. Legacy user account authentication with passwords is more susceptible to credential theft and password attacks than service principal authentication with certificates. Compromised connector accounts allow threat actors to manipulate identity synchronization, create backdoor accounts, escalate privileges, or disrupt hybrid identity infrastructure.
Remediation
Section titled “Remediation”- Configure service principal authentication for Entra Connect
- Remove legacy Directory Synchronization Accounts
Run it
Section titled “Run it”The check runs as part of the whole assessment, with the ZeroTrustAssessment module installed:
Install-Module ZeroTrustAssessment -Scope CurrentUserConnect-MaesterInvoke-Maester -Pack ZTA -SkipBuiltInLeave out -SkipBuiltIn to run Maester’s own checks in the same run.
About this check
| Severity | High |
| Effort to fix | Medium |
| Impact on users | Low |
| Pillar | Identity |
| Category | Hybrid infrastructure |
| Product | Entra ID |
| Feature | Hybrid identity |
| Area | Authentication |
| ATT&CK | T1078.004 Cloud Accounts, T1110 Brute Force |
| Licence | Free |
| Tenant | Workforce |
Product, feature, area and ATT&CK are Maester’s: the assessment does not record them, so Maester keeps them in the pack’s taxonomy.json.
A Microsoft check, part of the Zero Trust Assessment pack. Text from ZeroTrustAssessment 3.1.0, © Microsoft, MIT licence.