t1098-002-additional-email-delegate-permissions

name	T1098.002_additional-email-delegate-permissions
description	Adversaries may grant additional permission levels to maintain persistent access to an adversary-controlled email account.
category	configuration
version	18.1
author	cyberstrike-official
tags	["mitre-attack","enterprise","t1098.002","persistence","privilege-escalation","windows","office-suite","sub-technique"]
technique_id	T1098.002
tactic	persistence
all_tactics	["persistence","privilege-escalation"]
platforms	["Windows","Office Suite"]
mitre_url	https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1098/002
tech_stack	["windows","office"]
cwe_ids	["CWE-276"]
chains_with	["T1098","T1098.001","T1098.003","T1098.004","T1098.005","T1098.006","T1098.007"]
prerequisites	["T1098"]
severity_boost	{"T1098":"Chain with T1098 for deeper attack path","T1098.001":"Chain with T1098.001 for deeper attack path","T1098.003":"Chain with T1098.003 for deeper attack path"}

T1098.002 Additional Email Delegate Permissions

Sub-technique of: T1098

High-Level Description

Adversaries may grant additional permission levels to maintain persistent access to an adversary-controlled email account.

For example, the Add-MailboxPermission PowerShell cmdlet, available in on-premises Exchange and in the cloud-based service Office 365, adds permissions to a mailbox. In Google Workspace, delegation can be enabled via the Google Admin console and users can delegate accounts via their Gmail settings.

Adversaries may also assign mailbox folder permissions through individual folder permissions or roles. In Office 365 environments, adversaries may assign the Default or Anonymous user permissions or roles to the Top of Information Store (root), Inbox, or other mailbox folders. By assigning one or both user permissions to a folder, the adversary can utilize any other account in the tenant to maintain persistence to the target user’s mail folders.

This may be used in persistent threat incidents as well as BEC (Business Email Compromise) incidents where an adversary can add Additional Cloud Roles to the accounts they wish to compromise. This may further enable use of additional techniques for gaining access to systems. For example, compromised business accounts are often used to send messages to other accounts in the network of the target business while creating inbox rules (ex: Internal Spearphishing), so the messages evade spam/phishing detection mechanisms.

Kill Chain Phase

• Persistence (TA0003)
• Privilege Escalation (TA0004)

Platforms: Windows, Office Suite

What to Check

• Identify if Additional Email Delegate Permissions technique is applicable to target environment
• Check Windows systems for indicators of Additional Email Delegate Permissions
• Check Office Suite systems for indicators of Additional Email Delegate Permissions
• Verify mitigations are bypassed or absent (3 known mitigations)
• Assess detection coverage (1 detection strategies)

How to Test

Manual Testing

1. Identify Attack Surface: Determine if the target environment is susceptible to Additional Email Delegate Permissions by examining the target platforms (Windows, Office Suite).

2. : Review whether mitigations for T1098.002 are in place. If defenses are absent or misconfigured, this technique may be exploitable.