On last December 18th, Microsoft has announced the release of support for using Managed Identities as Federated Identity Credentials for Microsoft Entra. This update significantly enhances security in scenarios where you need to create an app registration and connect to it in an app-only context, which was previously only achievable using a Client Secret or Certificate.
Key Highlights:
What Are Managed Identities? Managed Identities in Azure are a service principal in Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) that provides an automatically managed identity for Azure resources. Applications or services can use this identity to authenticate to other Azure services or apps without the need for credentials.
Multi-Tenant App Support: Previously, Managed Identities were primarily limited to single-tenant applications. With this update, they can now authenticate against apps or APIs configured for multi-tenancy in Azure AD.
Advantages:
- Enhanced Security: No need to manage credentials explicitly.
- Simplified Access: Applications across tenants can authenticate directly without additional configuration.
- Scalability: Ideal for scenarios involving multiple tenants, such as SaaS applications or cross-organizational integrations.
Use Cases:
- Multi-tenant SaaS applications needing access to Azure resources.
- Applications hosted in one Azure tenant accessing APIs or resources in another tenant securely.
- Automation scripts or Azure Functions requiring cross-tenant authentication.
Configuration Steps:
- Set up the multi-tenant app: Ensure the application is registered in Azure AD with multi-tenant support enabled.
- Grant permissions: Assign the required API permissions and consent for the application.
- Use Managed Identity: Enable Managed Identity on the Azure resource and configure it to authenticate with the multi-tenant app.
This enhancement reduces complexity and operational overhead for developers and IT administrators working with Azure services in diverse tenant environments.
Ref : Google | Daniel Bradley
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