Category Archives: Microsoft Graph

Automating Sites.Selected permissions provisioning

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Scenario

You administer Microsoft 365 SharePoint Online. Part of your daily activities is providing Microsoft Graph and SharePoint Sites.Selected API permissions to other users (developers).

In Aug/Sep 2023 Microsoft pushed an update that prevents site collection admins to create or update an Azure Access Control (ACS) principal (that was the way most of developers used to get Client Id and Client secret to access SharePoint site). So your users are probably getting something like Your SharePoint tenant admin doesn’t allow site collection admins to create or update an Azure Access Control (ACS) principal message attempting to create or update SharePoint App-only principal at AppRegNew.aspx or AppInv.aspx pages. Here are more details on the issue.

Microsoft and MVPs shared some technique how to provide Sites.Selected API permissions, but dealing with scripts manually, elevating individual permissions every time you need to run the script – it all takes time and not very efficient. More and more devs are reaching you on the app. So you want to automate this process.

Solution

Solution architecture

My way to automate it includes:

  • SharePoint list as a frontend
    here you can accept intake requests, organize approval workflow and display automation results
  • Azure Function App as a backend
    here will be your PowerShell script hosted that runs on scheduled basis and takes care of actual permissions provisioning

Solution details

High-level, getting application permissions to some specific SharePoint site is a two-step process:

  1. get application registration in Azure and properly configure it
  2. get permissions for this application to a specific SharePoint site

For the first step – check this and this articles. I’ll focus on the second step below.

You can provide Sites.Selected permissions for the app to a site with

I will be using second one one. Also PnP.PowerShell will be used to get access to SharePoint intake site and read/update requests from SharePoint list and so on.

Azure App Registration

I registered an admin Application in Azure – “SharePoint Automation App”, added Graph Sites.FullControl.All and SharePoint Sites.FullControl.All permissions, then added Microsoft Graph Directory.Read.All permissions and got tenant admin consent:

I generated a self-signed certificate and added it to the app:

This app will be used to call provide permissions, and to connect to the SharePoint front-end.

Users will register their applications in Azure, add Graph Sites.Selected and SharePoint Sites.Selected permissions, got tenant admin consent, then request permissions to the specific site by creating an intake request – new list item.

Front-End SharePoint Site

I created a SharePoint site for automation. This site will play a front-end role for users. I created a list “Sites.Selected” and updated list columns so I have the following fields:

  • Target Site Url
  • Application Id
  • Permissions (read/write)
  • Automation Output

In real-world (Prod) – You can (should) also implement approval workflow as you’d provide permissions for the application to the site only with this site owner approval. The PowerShell code behind should also validate site owner’s consent with app access to site. But for the sake of simplicity I’ll skip this in my demo.

Azure Function App

I created an Azure Function App with the following parameters:
– Runtime stack: PowerShell Core
– Version: 7.2.
– OS: Windows
– Hosting plan: Consumption

And then PowerShell timer-triggered function in Visual Studio Code.

Function requirements.psd1 (it takes a few hours for Azure to install modules; while modules are installing – you might see “[Warning] The first managed dependency download is in progress, function execution will continue when it’s done. Depending on the content of requirements.psd1, this can take a few minutes. Subsequent function executions will not block and updates will be performed in the background.”):

@{
    'Az' = '10.*'
    'PnP.PowerShell' = '2.*'
}

Azure Az module to access other Azure resources. PnP.PowerShell module will be used to access SharePoint.

I will keep my admin Azure registered app in a key vault, so need somehow to let the key vault know that this specific app can access this specific credentials. So I enabled system assigned managed Identity for the Function App:

MS: “This resource is registered with Azure Active Directory. The managed identity can be configured to allow access to other resources…”.
I’m going to use an object (principal) Id of this function to grant access to keyvault.

Azure key vault

Surely we do not hard-code app secrets. So we need a key vault o store app credentials.

I created a key vault under the same resource group in Azure and named it “SharePointAutomationDemo”. Then I added a roles assignment – “Key Vault Secret User” and “Key vault Reader” to the Function App via it’s managed identity:

I also assigned “Key Vault Administrator” role to the user (developer) who will add certificates/secrets to this key vault and develop Azure function code.

MS Graph usage reports: Site vs Team vs Group activity

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Microsoft Graph provides very useful reports via MS graph reports API:

  • getOffice365GroupsActivityDetail – details about Microsoft 365 groups and activity
  • getSharePointSiteUsageDetail – details about SharePoint sites and usage
  • getTeamsTeamActivityDetail – details about Microsoft Teams and activity by teams

Also we know, that Teams sites are group-based, and you can have private and shared channels under Teams – but these sites are not actually group-based and there are group-based SharePoint sites with no Teams behind.

And activities might be different – update document or just visit home page, provide permissions and update channel properties etc.

So the question is what kind of activity at what level is recorded at which report?

TBP

Manage Microsoft 365 groups membership with PowerShell and Graph API

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As SharePoint or Teams admin you can manage Microsoft 365 groups (create, update, delete, manage membership etc.) having your admin role activated. I use Azure registered app with “Group.ReadWrite.All” Microsoft Graph API delegated permission and Microsoft.Graph PowerShell module.

When a user was not a group member or group owner – and is added to the group members – user gets notification “You’ve joined the <Group Name> group” via e-mail that comes from a group e-mail address.

When a user is added to the group owners (or elevated to group owner if user was a group member) – user does not get notification.

When a user was a group owner and now is added to the group members – user does not get notification.

All the actions are logged into Microsoft 365 audit log under your personal Id.

Script samples:

# This script is just a sample to demonstrate basic technique on deletion m365 groups with PowerShell and MS Graph
# please do not run this script as is, but update it upon your needs

# authentication with personal Id
#  app must have as minimum "Group.ReadWrite.All" Microsoft Graph API delegated permission
#  user must have SharePoint admin (or Teams admin) roles activated
Connect-MgGraph -ClientId $clientid -TenantId $tenantId 
Get-MgContext | Select-Object Scopes -ExpandProperty Scopes

# sample data
$groups = @()
$groups += [PSCustomObject]@{GroupId = '443d22ae-683a-4fe4-8875-7bd78227a026' }
$groups += [PSCustomObject]@{GroupId = 'e5805388-c18c-48c0-b42d-6223cf8f3d82' }

# Get Groups
foreach ($group in $groups) {
    Get-MgGroup -GroupId $group.GroupId
}

# add members to the group
$groupId = '443d22ae-683a-4fe4-8875-7bd78227a026'
$userId = 'df74e0d3-d78c-495b-b47a-549437d93cf7' # Adele
New-MgGroupMember -GroupId $groupId -DirectoryObjectId $userId

# add Owner to the group
$groupId = '443d22ae-683a-4fe4-8875-7bd78227a026'
$userId = 'eacd52fb-5ae0-45ec-9d17-5ded9a0b9756' # Megan
New-MgGroupOwner -GroupId $groupId -DirectoryObjectId $userId

# Delete group
# add Owner to the group
$groupId = '443d22ae-683a-4fe4-8875-7bd78227a026'
Remove-MgGroup -GroupId $groupId

https://github.com/VladilenK/m365-PowerShell/tree/main/KBA/Ownerless-Groups

Your SharePoint tenant admin doesn’t allow site collection admins…

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Scenario

You are trying to register an application at SharePoint site with appregnew.aspx page and you are getting an error or notification message “Your SharePoint tenant admin doesn’t allow site collection admins to create an Azure Access Control (ACS) principal“.

Your SharePoint tenant admin doesn't allow site collection admins to create an Azure Access Control (ACS) principal. Please contact your SharePoint tenant administrator

You are trying to provide ACS-based permissions for an application to SharePoint site with appinv.aspx page and you are getting “Your SharePoint tenant admin doesn’t allow site collection admins to update app permissions. Please contact your SharePoint administrator.”

Your SharePoint tenant admin doesn't allow site collection admins to update app permissions. Please contact your SharePoint tenant administrator

Reason

This is due to a security measures enhancement MC660075 in Microsoft 365 tenant governance recently implemented by Microsoft. According to the update, only tenant administrators can create or update ACS service principal by default.

The root cause for this is that the Microsoft is pushing developers to Azure-registered applications with Sites.Selected API permissions as they are more secure that legacy ACS-based service principals.

Key differences ASC vs Sites.Selected are:

ACS-based SharePoint app/permissionsApps registered in Azure with Sites.Selected API permissions
support authentication with client secret only, secret is valid for 1 year exactlysupport authentication with client secret and certificate, custom expiration time
support granular access to SharePoint at the site-level e.g. to site collection or web or a specific listsupport only access to entire site collection (but Microsoft is working on granular access)
support only classic SharePoint REST API and CSOMsupport both – classic SharePoint REST API and CSOM and Microsoft Graph API
app id (client id) is created via appregnew.aspx at a specific SharePoint site by site collection administratorapp id (client id) is created in Azure portal, API Sites.Selected permissions are configured via Azure portal and require tenant admin consent
permissions for the app to a site are provided at the site by site collection administrator via appinv.aspx pagepermissions for the App to to a specific SharePoint site are provided by SharePoint admin with PowerShell script or Graph API calls

Solution

  1. Register an application in Azure (via Azure portal GUI, PowerShell script or your company’s specific helpdesk/servicedesk request)
  2. Update the app so both – MS Graph API Sites.Selected and SharePoint Sites.Selected permissions are configured and
  3. API permissions must be consented – so you’d seek/request your tenant admin consent
  4. Obtain and upload client certificate (recommended) or generate client secret
  5. Request access for the app to a specific SharePoint site (your SharePoint service admin should be able to do that)
  6. Validate your app has access to the target SharePoint site with PowerShell
  7. Secure your certificate and/or secret

If you are hosting your application in Azure – consider using managed identity.

Sites.Selected API permissions for SharePoint access

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Sites.Selected permissions are needed for the non-interactive application to get access to a specific SharePoint site.

Steps to get access to SharePoint site with Sites.Selected:

1. Register an application in Azure (via Azure portal GUI, PowerShell script or helpdesk/servicedesk request)

2. Update the app so both – MS Graph API Sites.Selected and SharePoint Sites.Selected permissions are configured and consented by tenant admin

3. Obtain and upload client certificate (recommended) or generate client secret

4. Request access for the app to a specific SharePoint site (your SharePoint service admin should be able to do that via PowerShell script or Graph API calls )
Here is the Graph API

5. Validate your app has access to the target SharePoint site with PowerShell
tbp

6. Secure your certificate and/or secret

Consider using vault to keep certificate/secret. If you host your application in Azure – consider using managed identity

ACS-based permissions are going to be deprecated soon:
Your SharePoint admin doesn’t allow site owners to create/update ACS principal ⋆ Vladilen Microsoft 365 engineer

SharePoint Sites Lookup

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That’s a very common problem in SharePoint world. You are looking for a site owner but there is no tool available for regular user to find who owns the site.

Scenarios.

You get a link to some SharePoint site, but you do not have access to it. You requested access but nobody has responded. You need to find who is the site owner.

(To be continued)