O365 OAuth App Mailbox Access via EWS
The following analytic detects when emails are accessed in Office 365 Exchange via Exchange Web Services (EWS) using OAuth-authenticated applications. It leverages the ClientInfoString field to identify EWS…
Description
The following analytic detects when emails are accessed in Office 365 Exchange via Exchange Web Services (EWS) using OAuth-authenticated applications. It leverages the ClientInfoString field to identify EWS interactions and aggregates metrics such as access counts, timing, and client IP addresses, categorized by user, ClientAppId, OperationCount, and AppId. Monitoring OAuth applications accessing emails through EWS is crucial for identifying potential abuse or unauthorized data access. If confirmed malicious, this activity could lead to unauthorized email access, data exfiltration, or further compromise of sensitive information.
Detection logic
Detection requirements
- Platform
- Office SuiteWindows
The rule states no platform. This is derived from the ATT&CK technique it maps to.
- Log source category
- o365_mailitemsaccessed
Known benign triggers
- OAuth applications may access mailboxes for legitimate purposes, you can use the src_ip to add trusted sources to an allow list.
MITRE ATT&CK mappings
0 exclusive techniques.This is coverage no other published rule has; it is not this rule's total technique count.
References
| Reference | Cited by |
|---|---|
| attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1114/002/ | 8 |
| learn.microsoft.com/en-us/exchange/client-developer/exchange-web-services/ews-applications-and-the-exchange-architecture | 2 |
| www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/blog/2024/01/25/midnight-blizzard-guidance-for-responders-on-nation-state-attack/ | 12from 2 sources |
From the source
- At source
- Open at source
- Upstream identifier
- e600cf1a-0bef-4426-b42e-00176d610a4d
- Tagged by the source as
- NOBELIUM GroupOffice 365 Collection TechniquesO365 TenantcloudSplunk CloudSplunk EnterpriseSplunk Enterprise Securitythreat
Licence
- Published under
- Apache License 2.0Read the licence
- Attribution
- Required
- Obtained under
- Apache-2.0Read the origin licence
Authorship
- Written by
- Published
- Aug 26, 2026
- Version
- 1