3.1.4 Ensure that users and groups are synced from Microsoft Entra ID to Azure Databricks

Information

To ensure centralized identity and access management, users and groups from Microsoft Entra ID should be synchronized with Azure Databricks. This is achieved through SCIM provisioning, which automates the creation, update, and deactivation of users and groups in Databricks based on Entra ID assignments. Enabling this integration ensures that access controls in Databricks remain consistent with corporate identity governance policies, reducing the risk of orphaned accounts, stale permissions, and unauthorized access.

Syncing users and groups from Microsoft Entra ID centralizes access control, enforces the least privilege principle by automatically revoking unnecessary access, reduces administrative overhead by eliminating manual user management, and ensures auditability and compliance with industry regulations.

NOTE: Nessus has not performed this check. Please review the benchmark to ensure target compliance.

Solution

Remediate from Azure Portal

Enable provisioning in Azure Portal:

- Go to Microsoft Entra ID
- Under Manage click Enterprise applications
- Click the name of the Azure Databricks SCIM application.
- Under Provisioning select Automatic and enter the SCIM endpoint and API token from Databricks.

Enable provisioning in Databricks:

<xhtml:ol start="5"> - Navigate to Admin Console > Identity and Access Management
- Enable SCIM provisioning and generate an API token.

Configure role assignments:

<xhtml:ol start="7"> - Ensure groups from Entra ID are mapped to appropriate Databricks roles.
- Restrict administrative privileges to designated security groups.

Regularly monitor sync logs:

<xhtml:ol start="9"> - Periodically review sync logs in Microsoft Entra ID and Databricks Admin Console.
- Configure Azure Monitor alerts for provisioning failures.

Disable manual user creation in Databricks:

<xhtml:ol start="11"> - Ensure that all user management is controlled via SCIM sync from Entra ID.
- Disable personal access token usage for authentication.

Remediate from Azure CLI

Enable SCIM User and Group Provisioning in Azure Databricks:

az ad app update --id <databricks-app-id> --set provisioning.provisioningMode=Automatic

Impact:

SCIM provisioning requires role mapping to avoid misconfigured user privileges.

See Also

https://workbench.cisecurity.org/benchmarks/19304

Item Details

Category: ACCESS CONTROL

References: 800-53|AC-2(1), CSCv7|16.2

Plugin: microsoft_azure

Control ID: 93fa1d05da4d67ec462484ceb8757d34ca25b9b5f46aac4ab3eea3d01960a0a6