AZ_ARM_ROLE_SCOPED_TO

Summary

Forestall ACL Alias	AZ_ARM_ROLE_SCOPED_TO
Azure Alias	Scope (ARM RBAC)
Affected Object Types	Subscriptions, Resource Groups, VMs, Key Vaults, and all other ARM resources
Exploitation Certainty	Informational
Azure RBAC Role	Any ARM RBAC role (Owner, Contributor, Reader, VM Contributor, Key Vault Contributor, custom roles, etc.)

Description

AZ_ARM_ROLE_SCOPED_TO represents the scoping relationship for Azure Resource Manager (ARM) RBAC role assignments. Every ARM role assignment has a scope that determines which resources the role’s permissions apply to.

ARM RBAC scopes are hierarchical and inherit downward:

Scope Level	Example	Inheritance
Management Group	/providers/Microsoft.Management/managementGroups/{mgId}	All subscriptions, resource groups, and resources underneath
Subscription	/subscriptions/{subId}	All resource groups and resources in the subscription
Resource Group	/subscriptions/{subId}/resourceGroups/{rgName}	All resources in the resource group
Resource	/subscriptions/{subId}/resourceGroups/{rgName}/providers/{rp}/{type}/{name}	Only the specific resource

This edge connects a role assignment to its scope target (subscription, resource group, or resource). Understanding scope is critical for attack path analysis because:

• Higher scopes = broader blast radius - an Owner at subscription scope controls everything in the subscription.
• RBAC inheritance means a single role assignment can affect thousands of resources.
• Defenders may overlook inherited permissions when auditing resource-level access.

Note: This edge is distinct from AZ_ROLE_SCOPED_TO, which handles Entra ID directory role scoping (Application Administrator scoped to specific apps). AZ_ARM_ROLE_SCOPED_TO applies specifically to ARM RBAC role assignments.

Identification

PowerShell (Az Module)Azure Portal

PowerShell (Az Module)

Connect-AzAccount

# List all role assignments in a subscription (shows scope for each)
Get-AzRoleAssignment -Scope "/subscriptions/<SubscriptionId>" |
    Select-Object DisplayName, RoleDefinitionName, ObjectType, Scope |
    Sort-Object Scope |
    Format-Table -AutoSize

# Filter for subscription-scoped assignments only (not inherited from MG)
Get-AzRoleAssignment -Scope "/subscriptions/<SubscriptionId>" |
    Where-Object { $_.Scope -eq "/subscriptions/<SubscriptionId>" } |
    Select-Object DisplayName, RoleDefinitionName, ObjectType |
    Format-Table -AutoSize

# List all role assignments at a specific resource group scope
Get-AzRoleAssignment -ResourceGroupName "<ResourceGroupName>" |
    Select-Object DisplayName, RoleDefinitionName, ObjectType, Scope |
    Format-Table -AutoSize

Azure Portal

1. Open Azure Portal -> navigate to any Subscription, Resource Group, or Resource.
2. Go to Access control (IAM) -> Role assignments.
3. The Scope column shows where each role assignment is applied.
4. Assignments inherited from a higher scope display (Inherited) next to the scope.

Exploitation

Related Attack Paths:

• AZ_ARM_OWNER - Subscription/RG Owner role.
• AZ_CONTRIBUTOR - Contributor at any scope.
• AZ_VM_CONTRIBUTOR - VM Contributor scoped to RGs or VMs.
• AZ_KEY_VAULT_CONTRIBUTOR - Key Vault Contributor scoped to vaults.
• AZ_PARENT - Structural containment across Tenant, Management Group, Subscription, and Resource Group scopes.

Mitigation

This is a structural relationship (not directly abusable) indicating ARM RBAC role assignment scope. Mitigation focuses on the specific role edges referenced above.

Detection

Use the Azure Portal:

1. Open Azure Portal -> Monitor -> Activity log.
2. Filter by Operation name: Create role assignment (Microsoft.Authorization/roleAssignments/write).
3. Review each event’s Scope to identify broad-scope assignments (subscription, management group, or root tenant).
4. Click into the event and review Caller, Source IP, and Time for unusual principals or off-hours activity.
5. At the impacted scope, open Access control (IAM) -> Role assignments and review entries marked as inherited from broad scopes.

References

• https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/role-based-access-control/scope-overview
• https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/role-based-access-control/role-assignments-portal
• https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/role-based-access-control/overview
• https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/role-based-access-control/best-practices
• https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/role-based-access-control/role-assignments-list-portal