Azure Penetration Testing: Top 5 Attack Vectors Every Security Team Should Know

Introduction

Microsoft Azure has become the cloud platform of choice for businesses across the UK and globally. With digital transformation accelerating, organisations are rapidly migrating infrastructure, data, and applications to Azure. However, this shift has also opened new doors for cyber attackers. Azure penetration testing is no longer optional. It is a necessity. This blog post is aimed at IT professionals, security consultants, and business leaders who want to understand the real risks and learn how to better protect their Azure environments.

Azure penetration testing involves simulating cyberattacks on Microsoft Azure environments to identify security weaknesses before malicious actors can exploit them. It is different from traditional pentesting because it requires knowledge of Azure-specific configurations, identity management, and cloud-native services. Imagine trying to break into a high-tech facility, but the doors, alarms, and keys are all digital and managed in the cloud.

If attackers know how to manipulate these systems, they can gain access with minimal noise. This is why Azure-specific pentesting matters now more than ever. With the increasing reliance on cloud services and tighter regulatory controls, knowing your vulnerabilities is crucial.

Common Threats or Challenges 

One of the most dangerous assumptions organisations make is thinking their Azure configurations are secure by default. In reality, misconfigurations, excessive permissions, and unmonitored accounts are common. For example, in 2023, a UK-based financial services company suffered a breach due to an exposed Azure Storage Account, leading to the leak of sensitive customer data. Attackers are increasingly targeting identity systems, serverless applications, and automation pipelines. Without continuous monitoring and testing, these weak points go unnoticed until it’s too late.

Azure AD Abuse

Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) is the central identity and access management service within Microsoft Azure. It is responsible for authenticating users, managing permissions, and enabling access to both cloud and on-premises resources. Because of its critical role, Azure AD is often targeted by attackers aiming to compromise cloud environments. Once an attacker gains access to Azure AD or exploits its misconfigurations, they can move laterally, escalate privileges, or exfiltrate data with minimal resistance. Understanding the key threats and how to mitigate them is essential for maintaining a secure Azure environment.

Common Attack Scenarios

Privilege escalation through misconfigured roles

One of the most common issues in Azure environments is the incorrect assignment of privileges. Administrators may inadvertently grant users more access than required for their role, violating the principle of least privilege. For example, assigning the “Contributor” role rather than a limited custom role can allow users to create new role assignments, ultimately giving themselves or others elevated permissions. In real-world penetration tests, attackers often exploit these misconfigurations to gain access to administrative functions or sensitive data.

Abuse of guest accounts with high-level access

Azure AD allows for the integration of guest users, which is beneficial for collaborating with partners or contractors. However, if these accounts are not properly restricted, they can pose a major security risk. Guest users should not have the same privileges as internal users, yet in many cases, they are granted excessive permissions either through group memberships or inherited roles. Attackers can exploit this oversight to gain unauthorised access, especially if the guest account credentials are compromised via phishing or credential stuffing.

Multi-factor authentication (MFA) bypass techniques

While MFA is a strong defence against credential-based attacks, it is not infallible. Sophisticated threat actors use techniques like session hijacking, man-in-the-middle (MITM) attacks, or token theft to bypass MFA controls. For example, an attacker might use tools like Evilginx to intercept tokens during the login process. Once obtained, these tokens can be replayed to impersonate legitimate users without needing to provide credentials or complete MFA challenges again.

Mitigation Tips

To protect against Azure AD abuse, organisations should take the following proactive measures:

• Enforce the principle of least privilege (POLP): Review all role assignments and ensure users only have the permissions necessary for their tasks. Avoid using broad roles such as “Owner” or “Contributor” unless absolutely necessary.
• Audit and monitor access regularly: Conduct periodic access reviews and utilise Azure AD’s built-in reporting to identify anomalies. Implement automated alerts for changes in role assignments or unusual login patterns.
• Restrict guest access: Apply Conditional Access policies that limit what guest users can access and monitor their activities closely. Use entitlement management within Azure AD to control the lifecycle of external identities.
• Strengthen MFA implementation: Use conditional access to enforce MFA only in high-risk scenarios, and consider using phishing-resistant MFA methods such as FIDO2 security keys. Monitor token usage and configure risk-based sign-in policies to detect suspicious authentication attempts.

By actively managing Azure AD and understanding its attack vectors, organisations can significantly reduce their exposure to identity-based threats. Securing Azure AD is not just a technical necessity; it’s a business imperative.

Mitigation Tips

Apply the Principle of Least Privilege (POLP) by ensuring users only have the access necessary for their roles. Regularly review roles and conduct access audits. Conditional Access Policies should be enforced to limit access based on user location, device status, or risk level.

Misconfigured Storage Accounts

Azure Storage Accounts are a core part of many cloud deployments, providing the ability to store unstructured data, including files, blobs, queues, and tables. However, their flexibility and ease of use can lead to serious security oversights. When storage accounts are misconfigured, they may inadvertently expose sensitive data to the public internet or allow unauthorised access through compromised credentials.

Real-World Exploits

One of the most common issues is the public exposure of blob containers. By default, Azure does not make containers publicly accessible, but misconfigurations during setup or continuous delivery processes can override these defaults. Attackers can use automated tools to scan for open containers and download data without authentication. This has occurred in numerous real-world incidents, including cases where internal documents, personally identifiable information (PII), and source code were publicly accessible.

Another serious problem is the leakage of storage account access keys. These keys act as master credentials, allowing full access to the storage account’s data. If access keys are accidentally committed to public code repositories, such as GitHub, attackers can immediately exploit them. This scenario is especially common in CI/CD pipelines where credentials are hardcoded or poorly managed. Once discovered, attackers can use these keys to extract, modify, or delete data at will.

Misconfigured storage is often low-hanging fruit for attackers. Even organisations with advanced cloud deployments may overlook these simple but critical vulnerabilities.

Mitigation Tips Disable anonymous access unless absolutely required. Use Shared Access Signatures (SAS) with scoped permissions and expiration. Regularly rotate access keys and scan repositories for credential leaks using tools like Microsoft Defender for DevOps.

Role Assignment and Privilege Escalation

In Azure, Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) is designed to manage who can access what resources and at what level. However, mismanagement of these roles often leads to excessive permissions being granted. When users or service principals are assigned broad roles such as “Contributor,” it can result in unintended privilege escalation paths, which attackers are quick to exploit.

Attack Path

A typical scenario involves an attacker gaining access to an account with “Contributor” rights. While this role doesn’t directly grant administrative privileges, it allows the user to assign roles to other accounts. This loophole enables the attacker to elevate privileges by assigning the “Global Administrator” role either to themselves or to a newly created malicious identity. Once in possession of this elevated access, the attacker has near-total control over the Azure environment, including identity systems, virtual machines, and data storage.

This kind of escalation often goes unnoticed due to weak auditing practices or the absence of real-time monitoring. In large organisations, where many roles and accounts exist, these dangerous pathways can remain hidden until they’re exploited.

Tools

• AzureHound: A tool used to map out Azure AD and RBAC relationships, making privilege escalation paths visible.
• PowerZure: A post-exploitation framework designed specifically for enumerating and exploiting Azure role misconfigurations.

Mismanaged role assignments are one of the most overlooked yet impactful security risks in Azure. Tightening these controls is critical for any organisation using Azure services.

Mitigation Tips

Create custom roles tailored to specific job functions. Monitor role changes using Azure Monitor. Implement Just-In-Time (JIT) access through Azure Privileged Identity Management (PIM) to reduce the window of exposure.

Logic App and Function App Abuses Azure’s serverless offerings like Logic Apps and Function Apps are powerful, but often misconfigured.

Exploits

• Triggering Logic Apps externally via exposed HTTP endpoints
• Accessing function code and environment variables via unsecured SCM endpoints

Mitigation Tips

Implement IP restrictions and authentication for all triggers. Validate inputs and sanitise data. Secure your deployment pipelines and avoid hardcoding secrets in code or config files.

The Cybergen Approach

Cybergen offers a proactive approach to cloud security. Our Azure Penetration Testing services are tailored to simulate real-world attacks while minimising operational impact. We use advanced tooling, manual testing, and proven methodologies to uncover hidden risks.

Our team also helps configure Azure Monitor, Conditional Access Policies, and Defender for Cloud to provide holistic protection. Cybergen empowers your team with actionable insights, training, and support, making sure you can defend your cloud environment confidently.

Summary

Azure penetration testing is essential in today’s cloud-first world. Attackers are evolving, and so must your security practices.

By focusing on Azure AD, token security, storage configurations, role management, and serverless protection, your organisation can significantly reduce its risk surface.

The threats are real, but so are the solutions. Start by assessing your environment today. Engage with our experts to get a clear picture of where you stand and how to strengthen your defences. The future of cybersecurity is proactive let’s move forward with confidence.

Ready to strengthen your security posture? Contact us today for more information on protecting your business.

Bibliography

Microsoft, 2024. Microsoft Azure Security Documentation. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/security/azure-security

NCSC, 2023. Secure cloud adoption. https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/collection/cloud-security

OWASP, 2023. Serverless Top 10. Smith, A., 2023. Cloud Misconfigurations in the UK: A Case Study. Journal of Cyber Risk, 18(2), pp.102-115.

Cybergen Security, 2025. Azure Penetration Testing Services. [online] Available at: https://www.cybergensecurity.co.uk/penetration-testing