Listen to this Post
Microsoft is enforcing Mandatory Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) for accessing critical admin portals, including:
– Azure Portal
– Azure CLI & PowerShell
– IaC Tools (Terraform, Bicep, etc.)
– Microsoft 365 Admin Center
– Entra Admin Portal
– Intune Admin Portal
What You Should Know:
1. Scope of Enforcement
- Applies only to human admins—not Service Principals, Workload Identities, or Managed Identities.
- External Authentication Methods (EAM) like FIDO2 or SMS-based MFA comply with the requirement.
- Federated IdPs (e.g., Okta, ADFS) must send an MFA claim to Microsoft Entra ID.
2. Postponement for Complex Environments
- Organizations facing technical hurdles can delay enforcement until September 30, 2025.
- Use this time to audit admin access and migrate legacy systems.
3. Implementation Steps
1. Audit Admins Without MFA
Get-MgUser -All | Where-Object { $<em>.AccountEnabled -eq $true -and $</em>.UserType -eq "Member" } |
ForEach-Object {
$mfaStatus = Get-MgUserAuthenticationMethod -UserId $<em>.Id
if (-not $mfaStatus) { Write-Output "$($</em>.UserPrincipalName) has no MFA registered" }
}
2. Enforce MFA via Conditional Access
- Create a Conditional Access Policy targeting Azure Management and Microsoft Admin Portals.
New-MgIdentityConditionalAccessPolicy -DisplayName "Require MFA for Admin Portals" -State "enabled" -Conditions @{ Applications = @{ IncludeApplications = "797f4846-ba00-4fd7-ba43-dac1f8f63013" # Azure Management } Users = @{ IncludeRoles = "62e90394-69f5-4237-9190-012177145e10" # Global Admin } } -GrantControls @{ Operator = "OR" BuiltInControls = "mfa" }
3. Monitor Compliance
az monitor activity-log list --resource-provider "Microsoft.Authorization" --status "Succeeded" --query "[?contains(operationName.value, 'MFA')]"
4. Bypass Phishing-Resistant MFA (Recommended)
- FIDO2 keys (YubiKey, Windows Hello)
- Microsoft Authenticator (Number Matching)
- Certificate-Based Auth (CBA)
What Undercode Say:
Mandatory MFA is a critical step in securing cloud environments. However, organizations must:
– Audit service accounts to ensure no disruption.
– Train admins on phishing-resistant MFA methods.
– Automate compliance checks with PowerShell/Linux scripts.
Linux Admins: Even if managing hybrid environments, enforce MFA for SSH access via:
sudo nano /etc/ssh/sshd_config <h1>Add:</h1> AuthenticationMethods publickey,keyboard-interactive
Then integrate with Google Authenticator (PAM module):
sudo apt install libpam-google-authenticator google-authenticator
For Windows admins, enforce MFA for RDP:
Set-ItemProperty -Path "HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Lsa" -Name "Security Packages" -Value @("pku2u", "tspkg", "cloudap", "negotiate")
Expected Output:
A secure, MFA-enforced admin environment with:
- Zero standing privileges for critical portals.
- Automated compliance reporting.
- Phishing-resistant auth (FIDO2/Windows Hello).
Reference:
References:
Reported By: Beingageek Mandatorymfa – Hackers Feeds
Extra Hub: Undercode MoN
Basic Verification: Pass ✅
