Service Principal Required for Microsoft Entra ID

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Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure Active Directory) relies on service principals to enable secure authentication and authorization for applications. A service principal is a local representation of a global application object in a specific Azure AD tenant. It defines what the app can do, who can access it, and what resources it can reach.

You Should Know:

1. Creating a Service Principal in Azure AD

Use the following Azure CLI command to create a service principal:

az ad sp create-for-rbac --name "MyAppServicePrincipal" --skip-assignment

This generates:

  • App ID (Client ID)
  • Display Name
  • Password (Secret)
  • Tenant ID

2. Assigning Roles to the Service Principal

Grant permissions using:

az role assignment create --assignee <APP_ID> --role Contributor --scope /subscriptions/<SUBSCRIPTION_ID>

3. Authenticating with the Service Principal

Use the credentials to log in via CLI:

az login --service-principal -u <APP_ID> -p <PASSWORD> --tenant <TENANT_ID>

4. Retrieving Service Principal Details

List all service principals:

az ad sp list --display-name "MyAppServicePrincipal" --query "[].{DisplayName:displayName, AppId:appId}" --output table

5. Managing Secrets & Certificates

Rotate secrets using:

az ad sp credential reset --name <APP_ID> --append

6. Using Service Principal in PowerShell

Authenticate in PowerShell:

$SecurePassword = ConvertTo-SecureString "<PASSWORD>" -AsPlainText -Force 
$Credential = New-Object System.Management.Automation.PSCredential ("<APP_ID>", $SecurePassword) 
Connect-AzAccount -ServicePrincipal -Credential $Credential -Tenant "<TENANT_ID>"

7. Checking Permissions

Verify assigned roles:

az role assignment list --assignee <APP_ID> --output table

8. Deleting a Service Principal

Remove an unused SP:

az ad sp delete --id <APP_ID>

What Undercode Say:

Service principals are essential for secure, automated access in Azure environments. Always follow the principle of least privilege, rotate secrets regularly, and audit permissions. Use Microsoft Graph API (`https://graph.microsoft.com`) for advanced automation.

Expected Output:

{
"appId": "xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx",
"displayName": "MyAppServicePrincipal",
"password": "xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx",
"tenant": "xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx"
}

Reference:

Service Principal Required for Microsoft Entra ID | Microsoft Community Hub

References:

Reported By: Merill Service – Hackers Feeds
Extra Hub: Undercode MoN
Basic Verification: Pass ✅

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