Application Administrator
PrivilegedEnabled
Attack path
An attacker with the Application Administrator role can manage credentials for most application registrations and service principals. They could identify an application that already holds a privileged Entra role or high-impact Microsoft Graph application permissions, add a client secret or certificate, and authenticate as that workload through the OAuth 2.0 client credentials flow. The resulting access is determined by the targeted application, but a poorly governed privileged service principal can turn this role into a path to tenant-wide control.
Description
Can create and manage all aspects of app registrations and enterprise apps.
Details
Users in this role can add, manage, and configure enterprise applications, app registrations and manage on-premises like app proxy.
Directory Actions73
| Action | Condition |
|---|---|
microsoft.azure.serviceHealth/allEntities/allTasks | null |
microsoft.azure.supportTickets/allEntities/allTasks | null |
microsoft.directory/adminConsentRequestPolicy/allProperties/allTasks | null |
microsoft.directory/appConsent/appConsentRequests/allProperties/read | null |
microsoft.directory/applicationPolicies/basic/update | null |
microsoft.directory/applicationPolicies/create | null |
microsoft.directory/applicationPolicies/delete | null |
microsoft.directory/applicationPolicies/owners/read | null |
microsoft.directory/applicationPolicies/owners/update | null |
microsoft.directory/applicationPolicies/policyAppliedTo/read | null |
microsoft.directory/applicationPolicies/standard/read | null |
microsoft.directory/applications/applicationProxyAuthentication/update | null |
microsoft.directory/applications/applicationProxy/read | null |
microsoft.directory/applications/applicationProxySslCertificate/update | null |
microsoft.directory/applications/applicationProxy/update | null |
microsoft.directory/applications/applicationProxyUrlSettings/update | null |
microsoft.directory/applications/appRoles/update | null |
microsoft.directory/applications/audience/update | null |
microsoft.directory/applications/authentication/update | null |
microsoft.directory/applications/basic/update | null |
microsoft.directory/applications/create | null |
microsoft.directory/applications/credentials/update | null |
microsoft.directory/applications/delete | null |
microsoft.directory/applications/disablement/update | null |
microsoft.directory/applications/extensionProperties/update | null |
microsoft.directory/applications/notes/update | null |
microsoft.directory/applications/owners/update | null |
microsoft.directory/applications/permissions/update | null |
microsoft.directory/applications/policies/update | null |
microsoft.directory/applications/synchronization/standard/read | null |
microsoft.directory/applications/tag/update | null |
microsoft.directory/applications/verification/update | null |
microsoft.directory/applicationTemplates/instantiate | null |
microsoft.directory/auditLogs/allProperties/read | null |
microsoft.directory/connectorGroups/allProperties/read | null |
microsoft.directory/connectorGroups/allProperties/update | null |
microsoft.directory/connectorGroups/create | null |
microsoft.directory/connectorGroups/delete | null |
microsoft.directory/connectors/allProperties/read | null |
microsoft.directory/connectors/create | null |
microsoft.directory/customAuthenticationExtensions/allProperties/allTasks | null |
microsoft.directory/deletedItems.applications/delete | null |
microsoft.directory/deletedItems.applications/restore | null |
microsoft.directory/oAuth2PermissionGrants/allProperties/allTasks | null |
microsoft.directory/provisioningLogs/allProperties/read | null |
microsoft.directory/servicePrincipals/appRoleAssignedTo/update | null |
microsoft.directory/servicePrincipals/audience/update | null |
microsoft.directory/servicePrincipals/authentication/update | null |
microsoft.directory/servicePrincipals/basic/update | null |
microsoft.directory/servicePrincipals/create | null |
microsoft.directory/servicePrincipals/credentials/update | null |
microsoft.directory/servicePrincipals/delete | null |
microsoft.directory/servicePrincipals/disable | null |
microsoft.directory/servicePrincipals/enable | null |
microsoft.directory/servicePrincipals/getPasswordSingleSignOnCredentials | null |
microsoft.directory/servicePrincipals/managePasswordSingleSignOnCredentials | null |
microsoft.directory/servicePrincipals/managePermissionGrantsForAll.microsoft-application-admin | null |
microsoft.directory/servicePrincipals/notes/update | null |
microsoft.directory/servicePrincipals/owners/update | null |
microsoft.directory/servicePrincipals/permissions/update | null |
microsoft.directory/servicePrincipals/policies/update | null |
microsoft.directory/servicePrincipals/synchronization.cloudTenantToExternalSystem/credentials/manage | null |
microsoft.directory/servicePrincipals/synchronization.cloudTenantToExternalSystem/jobs/manage | null |
microsoft.directory/servicePrincipals/synchronization.cloudTenantToExternalSystem/schema/manage | null |
microsoft.directory/servicePrincipals/synchronizationCredentials/manage | null |
microsoft.directory/servicePrincipals/synchronizationJobs/manage | null |
microsoft.directory/servicePrincipals/synchronizationSchema/manage | null |
microsoft.directory/servicePrincipals/synchronization/standard/read | null |
microsoft.directory/servicePrincipals/tag/update | null |
microsoft.directory/signInReports/allProperties/read | null |
microsoft.office365.serviceHealth/allEntities/allTasks | null |
microsoft.office365.supportTickets/allEntities/allTasks | null |
microsoft.office365.webPortal/allEntities/standard/read | null |
Graph API Permissions30
Microsoft do not provide a direct mapping between Directory actions and Graph API permissions, despite this being necessary for delegated (interactive) access. MSAdminRoles.com has meticulously compiled a list of the Graph API permissions that each built-in admin role enables you to utilise. Please note this listing is not 100% accurate. Graph API permissions and Entra RBAC operate as two independent authorisation planes and do not map to each other on a one-to-one basis.
Application.Read.AllApplication.ReadUpdate.AllApplication.ReadWrite.AllAppRoleAssignment.ReadWrite.AllAuditLog.Read.AllAuditLogsQuery-Entra.Read.AllAuditLogsQuery.Read.AllChangeManagement.Read.AllConsentRequest.Read.AllConsentRequest.ReadWrite.AllCustomAuthenticationExtension.Read.AllCustomAuthenticationExtension.ReadWrite.AllDelegatedPermissionGrant.Read.AllDelegatedPermissionGrant.ReadWrite.AllDirectory.Read.AllPolicy.Read.AllPolicy.Read.PermissionGrantPolicy.ReadWrite.ApplicationConfigurationPolicy.ReadWrite.ConsentRequestPolicy.ReadWrite.PermissionGrantProvisioningLog.Read.AllServiceActivity-Exchange.Read.AllServiceActivity-Microsoft365Web.Read.AllServiceActivity-OneDrive.Read.AllServiceActivity-Teams.Read.AllServiceHealth.Read.AllServiceMessage.Read.AllServiceMessageViewpoint.WriteServicePrincipalEndpoint.Read.AllServicePrincipalEndpoint.ReadWrite.All