Microsoft Entra Query-Level Approval

Microsoft Entra made this possible without rewriting the app or inventing a custom workflow.

Microsoft Entra Query-Level Approval is the missing control in many enterprise security models. It lets you enforce human review before sensitive database operations run. Instead of blanket permissions, it adds precision. Each query can be intercepted, gated, and signed off.

With Query-Level Approval, Entra steps beyond role-based access control (RBAC). Roles alone can be too coarse—developers and admins often have wide rights they rarely need. By embedding approval logic at the query stage, you get minimal privilege in practice, not just in theory.

Core benefits include:

• Real-time interception of high-risk queries
• Dynamic routing to approvers based on context
• Auditable approval history tied to identities
• Integration with conditional access policies

For implementation, link your database workflows to Entra via an API or a proxy layer. Flag any query that matches rules: operations on financial tables, bulk updates, deletions, or schema changes. Entra sends the request to the assigned approver. The approver approves or denies in seconds. The database executes only if approved.

Security teams gain granular control. Compliance teams get clean audit trails. Engineers avoid slow manual processes. The system becomes part of your CI/CD pipeline or production management layer with minimal disruption.

Query-Level Approval is also compatible with Entra’s conditional access. You can require multi-factor auth from the approver, enforce location or device checks, and tie approvals to temporary elevation of privileges.

Set it up, define triggers, assign approvers, and lock down execution paths. The result is a predictable security posture that adapts to workload risks.

Want to run Microsoft Entra Query-Level Approval without waiting months for procurement? Test it, watch it work, and see it live in minutes at hoop.dev.