Description

Enable vulnerability assessment for machines on both Azure and hybrid (Arc enabled) machines.

Rationale

Vulnerability assessment for machines scans for various security-related configurations and events such as system updates, OS vulnerabilities, and endpoint protection, then produces alerts on threat and vulnerability findings.

Impact

Microsoft Defender for Servers plan 2 licensing is required, and configuration of Azure Arc introduces complexity beyond this recommendation.

Audit

From Azure Portal

1. From Azure Home, select the Portal Menu.
2. Select Microsoft Defender for Cloud.
3. Under Management, select Environment Settings.
4. Select a subscription.
5. Click on Settings & monitoring.
6. Ensure that Vulnerability assessment for machines is set to On.

Repeat the above for any additional subscriptions.

From Azure Policy

If referencing a digital copy of this Benchmark, clicking a Policy ID will open a link to the associated Policy definition in Azure.

• Policy ID: 501541f7-f7e7-4cd6-868c-4190fdad3ac9 - Name: A vulnerability assessment solution should be enabled on your virtual machines

Default Value

By default, Automatic provisioning of monitoring agent is set to Off.

References

1. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/defender-for-cloud/monitoring-components
2. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/rest/api/defenderforcloud/auto-provisioning-settings/list
3. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/rest/api/defenderforcloud/auto-provisioning-settings/create
4. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/security/benchmark/azure/mcsb-posture-vulnerability-management#pv-5-perform-vulnerability-assessments

Additional Information

While this feature is generally available as of publication, it is not yet available for Azure Government tenants.