| title | description | services | ms.service | ms.subservice | ms.topic | ms.date | ms.author | author | manager | ms.reviewer | ms.collection |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conditional Access service dependencies |
Learn how conditions are used in Azure Active Directory Conditional Access to trigger a policy. |
active-directory |
active-directory |
conditional-access |
conceptual |
07/06/2022 |
joflore |
MicrosoftGuyJFlo |
amycolannino |
calebb |
M365-identity-device-management |
What are service dependencies in Azure Active Directory Conditional Access?
With Conditional Access policies, you can specify access requirements to websites and services. For example, your access requirements can include requiring multifactor authentication (MFA) or managed devices.
When you access a site or service directly, the impact of a related policy is typically easy to assess. For example, if you have a policy that requires multifactor authentication (MFA) for SharePoint Online configured, MFA is enforced for each sign-in to the SharePoint web portal. However, it isn't always straight-forward to assess the impact of a policy because there are cloud apps with dependencies to other cloud apps. For example, Microsoft Teams can provide access to resources in SharePoint Online. So, when you access Microsoft Teams in our current scenario, you're also subject to the SharePoint MFA policy.
[!TIP] Using the Office 365 app will target all Office apps to avoid issues with service dependencies in the Office stack.
Policy enforcement
If you have a service dependency configured, the policy may be applied using early-bound or late-bound enforcement.
- Early-bound policy enforcement means a user must satisfy the dependent service policy before accessing the calling app. For example, a user must satisfy SharePoint policy before signing into MS Teams.
- Late-bound policy enforcement occurs after the user signs into the calling app. Enforcement is deferred to when calling app requests, a token for the downstream service. Examples include MS Teams accessing Planner and Office.com accessing SharePoint.
The diagram below illustrates MS Teams service dependencies. Solid arrows indicate early-bound enforcement the dashed arrow for Planner indicates late-bound enforcement.
As a best practice, you should set common policies across related apps and services whenever possible. Having a consistent security posture provides you with the best user experience. For example, setting a common policy across Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, Microsoft Teams, and Skype for business significantly reduces unexpected prompts that may arise from different policies being applied to downstream services.
A great way to accomplish a common policy with applications in the Office stack is to use the Office 365 app instead of targeting individual applications.
The below table lists some more service dependencies, where the client apps must satisfy. This list isn't exhaustive.
| Client apps | Downstream service | Enforcement |
|---|---|---|
| Azure Data Lake | Microsoft Azure Management (portal and API) | Early-bound |
| Microsoft Classroom | Exchange | Early-bound |
| SharePoint | Early-bound | |
| Microsoft Teams | Exchange | Early-bound |
| MS Planner | Late-bound | |
| Microsoft Stream | Late-bound | |
| SharePoint | Early-bound | |
| Skype for Business Online | Early-bound | |
| Microsoft Whiteboard | Late-bound | |
| Office Portal | Exchange | Late-bound |
| SharePoint | Late-bound | |
| Outlook groups | Exchange | Early-bound |
| SharePoint | Early-bound | |
| Power Apps | Microsoft Azure Management (portal and API) | Early-bound |
| Windows Azure Active Directory | Early-bound | |
| SharePoint | Early-bound | |
| Exchange | Early-bound | |
| Power Automate | Power Apps | Early-bound |
| Project | Dynamics CRM | Early-bound |
| Skype for Business | Exchange | Early-bound |
| Visual Studio | Microsoft Azure Management (portal and API) | Early-bound |
| Microsoft Forms | Exchange | Early-bound |
| SharePoint | Early-bound | |
| Microsoft To-Do | Exchange | Early-bound |
Troubleshooting service dependencies
The Azure Active Directory sign-ins log is a valuable source of information when troubleshooting why and how a Conditional Access policy applied in your environment. For more information about troubleshooting unexpected sign-in outcomes related to Conditional Access, see the article Troubleshooting sign-in problems with Conditional Access.
Next steps
To learn how to implement Conditional Access in your environment, see Plan your Conditional Access deployment in Azure Active Directory.