How to give access to user-assigned managed identity on registered app on Azure?

Question

I am trying to give access to a user-assigned managed identity to be able to create or delete secrets on a registered app on Azure. So far I have not been able to find a way to do so as registered application does not have any resource group.

Answer 1

To grant a user-assigned managed identity the ability to create or delete secrets in a registered Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) application, you need to assign permissions through Azure AD roles and access policies. Registered applications in Azure do not belong to a specific resource group; they are managed within Azure AD. Here's how to grant a user-assigned managed identity permissions to interact with secrets in a registered Azure AD application:

Step 1: Register the Application in Azure AD

Ensure that you have a registered application in Azure AD where you intend to create or manage secrets. If you don't have one, register a new application:

Open the Azure portal.

Go to Azure Active Directory.

Click App registrations.

Click New registration and follow the prompts to create a new application.

Step 2: Identify the User-Assigned Managed Identity

Ensure you have a user-assigned managed identity created in Azure. If not, create one:

Open the Azure portal.

Go to Managed identities and select User-assigned.

Click Add to create a new user-assigned managed identity.

Step 3: Grant Permissions to the Registered Application

To allow the managed identity to create or delete secrets, you need to assign appropriate permissions in Azure AD:

Open the Azure portal.

Go to Azure Active Directory.

Click App registrations.

Select your registered application from the list.

Click API permissions and then Add a permission.

Choose Microsoft Graph or the specific resource you want to interact with.

Select the appropriate permissions, such as Application.ReadWrite.All or Directory.ReadWrite.All, depending on your requirements.

Ensure to select Application permissions to give permissions at the app level.

Click Grant admin consent for {your organization} to apply the permissions.

Step 4: Assign Permissions to the Managed Identity

Now, you need to grant the necessary permissions to the user-assigned managed identity:

Open the Azure portal.

Go to Azure Active Directory.

Click Enterprise applications and select Managed applications.

Locate your registered application.

Click Users and groups and then Add user/group.

Search for and select the user-assigned managed identity you want to give access to.

Click Assign to complete the process.

Step 5: Test the Permissions

After granting permissions, test if the user-assigned managed identity can create or delete secrets in the registered application:

Use an Azure service (like Azure Function or Azure VM) with the user-assigned managed identity to attempt creating/deleting secrets in the registered application.

Check for any permission errors and adjust as necessary.

Additional Considerations

If you encounter permission issues, ensure that the managed identity has the necessary role assignments.

Review Azure AD audit logs to see if there are any errors or permission-related messages when the managed identity interacts with the registered application.

Depending on your Azure environment's complexity, consider consulting with a security expert or Azure support for more advanced configurations or permission troubleshooting.

Following these steps should allow the user-assigned managed identity to create or delete secrets on a registered Azure AD application.