Five Conditional Access Configuration Blunders That Trigger Enterprise-Wide Lockouts

A single misconfigured Conditional Access policy can instantly lock out every user in an organization, including administrators—a potentially catastrophic scenario that's entirely preventable with proper safeguards like dedicated break-glass accounts and thorough Report-only mode testing. This guide identifies five critical real-world mistakes that have paralyzed actual organizations and provides actionable remediation steps for each. Understanding these configuration pitfalls is essential for IT administrators managing Azure Entra security to prevent emergency recovery situations.