A neat lofted ball by Omar Abulrahman over the head of Bahraini defender Mohamed Duaij allowed Mabkhout to steal in and finish low under goalkeeper Sayed Mohamed Abbas to give the UAE a dream start at Canberra Stadium.
However, Nigerian-born Jaycee John Okwunwanne headed the Bahrainis level in the 26th minute, just reward for the striker who caused the UAE numerous problems in the half.
A win for the UAE, who beat Qatar 4-1 in their opener, would leave them on the brink of a third quarter-final berth and they were on track after Mabkhout's third goal of the tournament, assisted by some careless defending by Abdulla Omar, who gave away possession instead of just clearing his lines.
The UAE came close to adding a second in the 16th minute when some trickery down the right by Mohamed Abdulrahman led to a cross for Ahmed Khalil but the striker could only cannon a shot against the post.
The miss was to prove costly as Okwunwanne levelled 10 minutes later, rising above Hamdan Al-Kamali to meet Faouzi Aaish's inswinging corner.
Okwunwanne came close to adding a second in the 29th minute when a Bahraini counter led to Rashed Al Hooti crossing from the left but the striker's header was pushed behind by Majed Naser in the UAE goal.
Al Hooti was one of four changes made by Bahrain coach Marjan Eid as they looked to bounce back from an opening 2-0 loss to Iran and keep alive their quarter-final hopes.
Defensive issues remained for the Bahrainis, though, with a mazy run by Omar Abdulrahman setting up Mabkhout but his 33rd minute effort was cleared off the line.
(Writing by Patrick Johnston; Editing by John O'Brien)
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