AZ_ARM_OWNER

Summary

Forestall ACL Alias	AZ_ARM_OWNER
Azure Alias	Owner (Azure RBAC)
Affected Object Types	Subscriptions, Resource Groups, VMs, Key Vaults, Automation Accounts, and other ARM resources
Exploitation Certainty	Certain
Azure RBAC Role	Owner (8e3af657-a8ff-443c-a75c-2fe8c4bcb635) - full access to all resources including the ability to assign roles in Azure RBAC

Note: AZ_ARM_OWNER represents the Azure Resource Manager (ARM) RBAC Owner role assignment over an ARM resource. This is distinct from AZ_OWNER, which represents Entra ID object-level ownership with different mechanics, abuse primitives, and remediation steps.

Description

AZ_ARM_OWNER represents the Azure Resource Manager Owner role assignment. The Owner role grants full control over the target resource, including:

• All data-plane and management-plane operations on the resource.
• The ability to assign Azure RBAC roles to other principals - this is the key differentiator from the Contributor role.
• Delegation of access to subscriptions, resource groups, and individual resources.

Because the Owner role includes the Microsoft.Authorization/roleAssignments/write permission, a principal with this role can escalate privileges by granting themselves or others any other role (including Owner) on any child scope. This makes it the most powerful RBAC role in Azure.

Attack impact depends on the target scope:

Scope	Impact
Subscription	Full control of all resources in the subscription; ability to assign roles to any resource
Resource Group	Full control of all resources in the RG; lateral movement to VMs, Key Vaults, etc.
Virtual Machine	Run SYSTEM commands, exfiltrate data, deploy malware
Key Vault	Read all secrets, keys, and certificates; modify access policies
Automation Account	Create/edit runbooks; authenticate as the Automation Account

Identification

PowerShell (Az Module)Azure Portal

PowerShell (Az Module)

Connect-AzAccount

# List all Owner role assignments across the subscription
Get-AzRoleAssignment -RoleDefinitionName "Owner" |
    Select-Object DisplayName, SignInName, ObjectType, Scope |
    Format-Table -AutoSize

# List Owner assignments at a specific scope
Get-AzRoleAssignment -RoleDefinitionName "Owner" -Scope "/subscriptions/<SubscriptionId>" |
    Select-Object DisplayName, SignInName, ObjectType, Scope |
    Format-Table -AutoSize

# Check if a specific principal has Owner
Get-AzRoleAssignment -SignInName "[email protected]" |
    Where-Object { $_.RoleDefinitionName -eq "Owner" } |
    Select-Object DisplayName, RoleDefinitionName, Scope |
    Format-Table -AutoSize

Azure Portal

1. Open Azure Portal -> Subscriptions (or the target resource).
2. Go to Access control (IAM) -> Role assignments.
3. Filter by Role = Owner.
4. Review all principals listed - these have full control including role assignment.

Exploitation

Everything a Contributor can do, with the addition of assigning roles to resources. The Owner role includes Microsoft.Authorization/roleAssignments/write, allowing the principal to grant themselves or others any role at the target scope - including Owner - enabling full privilege escalation.

Related Attack Paths:

• AZ_ASSIGN_ROLES - Owner can assign any Azure RBAC role, including Owner, to any principal.
• AZ_MODIFY_ROLE_DEFINITION - Owner can create or modify custom role definitions to add dangerous permissions.
• AZ_EXECUTE_COMMAND - Owner over VMs can execute commands as SYSTEM.
• AZ_GET_SECRETS - Owner over Key Vaults can read secrets.
• AZ_GET_KEYS - Owner over Key Vaults can read keys.
• AZ_GET_CERTIFICATES - Owner over Key Vaults can read certificates.

Mitigation

1. Minimize Owner assignments

   • Go to Azure Portal -> target resource -> Access control (IAM) -> Role assignments.
   • Filter by Owner and remove any principal that does not strictly require this level of access.
   • Prefer Contributor (cannot assign roles) or more specific roles where possible.

2. Use Privileged Identity Management (PIM) for just-in-time access

   • Go to Entra ID -> Privileged Identity Management -> Azure resources.
   • Configure eligible (not permanent) assignments for the Owner role.
   • Require approval and MFA for activation.

3. Apply resource locks

   • Use CanNotDelete or ReadOnly resource locks to prevent accidental or malicious changes even by Owners.

4. Enable Azure Policy

   • Use Azure Policy to restrict role assignments and enforce guardrails.

Detection

Use the Azure Portal:

1. Open Azure Portal -> Monitor -> Activity log.
2. Filter Operation name by Create role assignment (Microsoft.Authorization/roleAssignments/write).
3. Review each event’s Caller, Source IP, Scope, and Time for:
   • New Owner role assignments, especially at subscription or management group scope.
   • Owner assignments to service principals or unknown identities.
   • Role assignments outside change management windows.
4. On the impacted resource, open Access control (IAM) -> Role assignments and filter Role = Owner to confirm the current set of owners.

References

• https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/role-based-access-control/built-in-roles#owner
• https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/role-based-access-control/role-assignments-portal
• https://blog.netspi.com/attacking-azure-with-custom-script-extensions/