Check ID: defender_auto_provisioning_vulnerabilty_assessments_machines_on
Provider: Azure
Service: defender
Severity: MEDIUM
Categories: vulnerabilities
Resource type: microsoft.security/assessmentssample

What this check verifies

Microsoft Defender for Cloud evaluates whether Azure VMs and Arc-enabled machines have a vulnerability assessment solution deployed and reporting healthy coverage across the subscription.

Risk

Without continuous vulnerability assessment, unpatched flaws persist, enabling:
  • Remote code execution and privilege escalation
  • Ransomware disrupting availability
  • Data exfiltration via lateral movement
Confidentiality, integrity, and availability are reduced across affected machines.

Recommendation

Enable subscription-wide auto-provisioning of a vulnerability assessment for all Azure and Arc machines and enforce it with policy for existing and new hosts. Apply least privilege to deployment identities, integrate with patch management, and monitor findings for timely remediation.

Remediation

az rest --method put --url https://management.azure.com/subscriptions/<SUBSCRIPTION_ID>/providers/Microsoft.Security/serverVulnerabilityAssessmentsSettings/AzureServersSetting?api-version=2022-01-01-preview --body '{"properties":{"selectedProvider":"MdeTvm"},"kind":"AzureServersSetting"}'

References

Where this check fires

This check runs on every scheduled scan against your Azure account. Findings appear at Cloud Security → Findings filterable by Check ID = defender_auto_provisioning_vulnerabilty_assessments_machines_on. To re-evaluate after a fix, hit Run now on the account’s schedule under Cloud Security → Schedules — the next scan re-checks this control and marks the finding fixed or keeps it persistent.
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