MT.1118 - AI agents should not use author (maker) authentication for connections.
Overview
AI agents should not use author (maker) authentication for their connector tools.
When a connector tool uses author authentication, the agent accesses external services (SharePoint, SQL, Outlook, etc.) using the authors stored credentials instead of requiring the end user to authenticate. This creates a privilege escalation risk — the agent operates with the maker's full permissions regardless of who is chatting with it, and it bypasses separation of duties controls.
How to fix
In Copilot Studio, review the agent's tools and change each connector's authentication setting from Agent author authentication to User authentication. This ensures the agent accesses external services using the chatting user's own credentials and permission scope.
Learn more: Configure user authentication in Copilot Studio
Test Metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Test ID | MT.1118 |
| Severity | Medium |
| Suite | Maester |
| Product | Copilot Studio |
| Feature | Agents |
| Area | AI and agents |
| Resource type | Agent |
| User impact | Medium |
| Implementation cost | Medium |
| MITRE ATT&CK | T1550.001 Application Access Token, T1213 Data from Information Repositories |
| Supports controls | nist-800-53-r5:AC-6 |
| PowerShell test | Test-MtAIAgentAuthorAuthentication |
| Services | Graph |