Cis Azure Foundations 8.1.3.4

8.1.3.4 Ensure that 'Agentless scanning for machines' component status is set to 'On' (Manual)

Description

Using disk snapshots, the agentless scanner scans for installed software, vulnerabilities, and plain text secrets.

Rationale

The Microsoft Defender for Cloud agentless machine scanner provides threat detection, vulnerability detection, and discovery of sensitive information.

Impact

Agentless scanning for machines requires licensing and is included in Defender CSPM and Defender for Servers plan 2.

Audit Procedure

From Azure Portal:

1. From the Azure Portal Home page, select Microsoft Defender for Cloud.
2. Under Management select Environment Settings.
3. Select a subscription.
4. Under Settings > Defender Plans, click Settings & monitoring.
5. Under the Component column, locate the row for Agentless scanning for machines.
6. Ensure that On is selected.

Repeat the above for any additional subscriptions.

Expected Result

Agentless scanning for machines should be set to On.

Remediation

From Azure Portal:

1. From the Azure Portal Home page, select Microsoft Defender for Cloud.
2. Under Management select Environment Settings.
3. Select a subscription.
4. Under Settings > Defender Plans, click Settings & monitoring.
5. Under the Component column, locate the row for Agentless scanning for machines.
6. Select On.
7. Click Continue in the top left.

Repeat the above for any additional subscriptions.

Default Value

By default, Agentless scanning for machines is off.

References

1. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/defender-for-cloud/concept-agentless-data-collection
2. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/security/benchmark/azure/mcsb-incident-response#ir-2-preparation---setup-incident-notification
3. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/defender-for-cloud/enable-agentless-scanning-vms

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