Enforce Certificate Credentials for Applications
Workload Identity & Applications control for Microsoft 365 and Entra ID
Why This Control Matters
Client secrets are frequently compromised through accidental commits to source code, exposure in application logs, phishing attacks targeting developers, or insecure sharing via email and chat. Certificate credentials eliminate these risks by using cryptographic key pairs where the private key remains secured on your infrastructure and never needs to be transmitted or shared. Microsoft's Baseline Security Mode now blocks password-based credentials on applications.
Expected State
When this control is compliant, your tenant should meet these criteria:
- 1Applications use certificate credentials instead of client secrets
- 2Client secrets are only used during certificate migration periods
- 3No applications rely solely on client secrets for authentication
Enforcement
Alerts on deviations but does not make changes
Review applications using client secrets and migrate to certificate-based authentication. Cannot be auto-remediated as removing active secrets would break applications.
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