Detection: Windows ConvertTo-AADIntBackdoor Execution Via PowerShell Script

Updated Date: 2026-04-13 ID: 59a8662f-f616-4494-8fa1-29ae77fc2018 Author: Raven Tait, Splunk Type: TTP Product: Splunk Enterprise Security

Description

This analytic detects the execution of the ConvertTo-AADIntBackdoor command via PowerShell Script Block Logging. The ConvertTo-AADIntBackdoor command is part of the AADInternals toolkit, which is used primarily for security testing and administrative tasks in Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) environments. This particular command is designed to create a "backdoor" in a federated Azure AD domain. When executed, ConvertTo-AADIntBackdoor modifies the federation settings of a domain by adding or changing the federation configuration to allow an attacker to control the authentication process. This manipulation enables the creation of security tokens that can impersonate any user within the Azure AD tenant. Consequently, this allows an attacker to bypass Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA), escalate privileges, and maintain persistent access to the Azure AD environment.

Search

 1`powershell`
 2EventID="4104"
 3ScriptBlockText="*ConvertTo-AADIntBackdoor*"
 4
 5| fillnull
 6
 7| stats count min(_time) as firstTime
 8              max(_time) as lastTime
 9  by Computer EventID ScriptBlockText signature signature_id user_id vendor_product Guid
10     Opcode Name Path ProcessID ScriptBlockId
11
12
13| rename Computer as dest
14
15| `security_content_ctime(firstTime)`
16
17| `security_content_ctime(lastTime)`
18
19| `windows_convertto_aadintbackdoor_execution_via_powershell_script_filter`

Data Source

Name	Platform	Sourcetype	Source
Powershell Script Block Logging 4104	Windows	`'XmlWinEventLog'`	`'XmlWinEventLog:Microsoft-Windows-PowerShell/Operational'`

Macros Used

Name	Value
powershell	`(source=WinEventLog:Microsoft-Windows-PowerShell/Operational OR source="XmlWinEventLog:Microsoft-Windows-PowerShell/Operational" OR source=WinEventLog:PowerShellCore/Operational OR source="XmlWinEventLog:PowerShellCore/Operational")`
windows_convertto_aadintbackdoor_execution_via_powershell_script_filter	`search *`

windows_convertto_aadintbackdoor_execution_via_powershell_script_filter is an empty macro by default. It allows the user to filter out any results (false positives) without editing the SPL.

Annotations

- MITRE ATT&CK

+ Kill Chain Phases

+ NIST

+ CIS

- Threat Actors

ID	Technique	Tactic
T1482	Domain Trust Discovery	Discovery
T1078	Valid Accounts	Initial Access
T1212	Exploitation for Credential Access	Persistence
T1071.001	Web Protocols	Privilege Escalation

Command and Control

Delivery

Exploitation

Installation

DE.CM

CIS 10

Default Configuration

This detection is configured by default in Splunk Enterprise Security to run with the following settings:

Setting	Value
Disabled	true
Cron Schedule	`0 * * * *`
Earliest Time	`-70m@m`
Latest Time	`-10m@m`
Schedule Window	`auto`
Creates Notable	Yes
Rule Title	`%name%`
Rule Description	`%description%`
Notable Event Fields	user, dest
Creates Risk Event	True

This configuration file applies to all detections of type TTP. These detections will use Risk Based Alerting and generate Notable Events.

Implementation

The detection is based on data that originates from Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) agents. These agents are designed to provide security-related telemetry from the endpoints where the agent is installed. To implement this search, you must ingest logs that contain the process GUID, process name, and parent process. Additionally, you must ingest complete command-line executions. These logs must be processed using the appropriate Splunk Technology Add-ons that are specific to the EDR product. The logs must also be mapped to the Processes node of the Endpoint data model. Use the Splunk Common Information Model (CIM) to normalize the field names and speed up the data modeling process.

Known False Positives

Certain administrative or security testing activities in Azure AD environments may use ConvertTo-AADIntBackdoor for legitimate federation configuration changes. Review and allow such actions from trusted administrators and approved tools.

Associated Analytic Story

Risk Based Analytics (RBA)

Risk Message:

ConvertTo-AADIntBackdoor Cmdlet execution via PowerShell script observed on $dest$

Risk Object	Risk Object Type	Risk Score	Threat Objects
dest	system	50	No Threat Objects

References

https://atomicredteam.io/privilege-escalation/T1484.002/#atomic-test-1---add-federation-to-azure-ad

Detection Testing

Test Type	Status	Dataset	Source	Sourcetype
Validation	✅ Passing	N/A	N/A	N/A
Unit	✅ Passing	Dataset	`XmlWinEventLog:Microsoft-Windows-PowerShell/Operational`	`XmlWinEventLog`
Integration	✅ Passing	Dataset	`XmlWinEventLog:Microsoft-Windows-PowerShell/Operational`	`XmlWinEventLog`

Replay any dataset to Splunk Enterprise by using our replay.py tool or the UI. Alternatively you can replay a dataset into a Splunk Attack Range

Source: GitHub | Version: 1