Expert Azure Vulnerability Scanning for Enterprise Security

, We help organizations reduce cyber risk with a strategic control that continuously discovers, prioritizes, and remediates exposure across cloud and hybrid estates.

We standardize on Defender for Cloud to provide unified visibility and consistent operations for executives and technical teams. Our approach aligns policy, reporting, and evidence-based workflows so audits and governance are simpler.

Microsoft Defender and Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management deliver both agentless and agent-based coverage so we tailor protection to workload constraints. Premium features in Plan 2 add baseline and certificate assessments that strengthen compliance and reduce risk.

We translate technical findings into clear information for leaders, set measurable targets for remediation time, and deliver defensible results for internal audit. The outcome is improved security posture and prioritized investment decisions.

• We use Defender for Cloud to unify visibility and governance across environments.
• Agentless and agent-based options let us match coverage to workload needs.
• Plan 2 adds baseline and certificate checks for stronger compliance.
• Our reports turn technical details into executive information for decisions.
• Expected outcomes include faster remediation and measurable risk reduction.

Real-time inventory and contextual prioritization shorten the window attackers rely on to exploit systems. We define vulnerability scanning as continuous detection of software flaws, misconfigurations, and exposure paths within a broader management lifecycle that includes prioritization and remediation.

Integrated detection in defender cloud uses Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management to deliver consistent coverage across Azure, AWS, GCP, and Arc-connected machines. That centralization gives leaders a single source of truth for findings and actionable security information.

Faster discovery and contextual prioritization reduce business risk by shrinking attacker dwell time. Stakeholders should expect full software inventories, clear severity ratings, and signals that separate high-risk items from noise.

• Continuous identification of flaws and exposure paths, tied to remediation workflows.
• Centralized operations in defender cloud for multicloud visibility.
• Telemetry and analytics from microsoft defender that improve detection fidelity.

Current attacker trends—exploitation of known CVEs, misconfigurations, and third-party gaps—make consistent checks essential. For implementation guidance, see our linked guidance on vulnerability management.

We align plan choice and access controls before enrollment to ensure assessments run correctly and approvals are efficient.

Plan selection determines whether assessment is agentless, agent-based, or both. Agentless assessment is available by default with Defender for Servers Plan 2 or the CSPM plan. Agent-based coverage requires a servers plan 1 or plan 2 that integrates with Defender for Endpoint.

Deployment actions require Owner permissions at the resource group level. Viewing findings requires Security Reader rights. This separation preserves least privilege and supports clean audit trails.

We support machines across cloud and hybrid estates: Azure VMs, AWS and GCP instances onboarded to Defender for Cloud, and on-premises servers connected via Azure Arc. Scope enrollment by subscription or resource group to match operational ownership.

• Plan mapping: Plan 1 = agent-based; Plan 2 = agentless + agent-based + premium features; CSPM = agentless eligibility.
• Access model: Owner for deployment, Security Reader for findings.
• Authorization workflow: Use a repeatable access request template that explicitly states it requires authorization and the minimal privileges.

Selecting an assessment approach determines coverage, data freshness, and operational impact for each workload. We map risks to capability so teams get the right balance of speed and depth.

Agentless scanning delivers fast onboarding and broad reach with no agent overhead. It is the default in Plan 2 and is CSPM-eligible for quick wins across many machines.

Agent-based collection gives deeper telemetry, faster result freshness, and alignment with EDR workflows. We recommend this for high-value assets and environments that require tight SLAs.

When both approaches run on a machine, agent-based results take precedence for freshness. If no agent exists, the platform falls back to agentless automatically.

Organizations that standardize on Qualys or Rapid7 can integrate results back into our platform. This preserves an integrated vulnerability view while keeping existing contracts and tooling.

• Architectural fit: agentless for quick coverage and sensitive workloads; agent-based for deeper analytics.
• Decision factors: asset criticality, change management limits, and data residency.
• Consolidated reporting: enable defender vulnerability management in Environment settings to force its results into leadership dashboards.

You can enable host assessments through the portal or API; both paths give clear controls and audit records. Our walkthrough below shows the portal clicks and the REST call you can script for mass enablement.

In Defender for Cloud open Environment settings, choose the subscription, then find the Monitoring coverage column for Defender for Servers and click Settings.

Under Settings and monitoring, turn on Vulnerability assessment for machines. Use Edit configuration to pick an assessment solution (agentless, agent-based, or BYOL). Then Apply and Save.

For automation use PUT or DELETE on the serverVulnerabilityAssessments endpoint for the VM:

If a page requires authorization, sign in and validate tenant context. Consider changing directories if you’re in the wrong tenant.

Confirm the subscription and resource group so the right resources receive the assessment solution. Align enablement with change windows and document the configuration for audit trails.

• Walk the portal path: Environment settings → select subscription → Monitoring coverage → Settings → enable vulnerability assessment → Edit configuration → Apply → Save.
• Use the REST template above to script bulk enablement in defender cloud.
• Verify sign-in, directory, and subscription before making changes to avoid misconfiguration.

Coverage decisions start with clear scope: which directories, subscriptions, and resource groups must be monitored first. We map scope to ownership so teams know who must act on findings and which resources fall inside the control set.

By default we enable an agentless posture where eligible plans are active in defender cloud. That default option speeds onboarding and gives broad visibility while we layer agent-based options for high-value assets.

Coverage extends beyond single providers. We include VMs in other clouds and on-premises systems connected through Arc so no critical machine is missed. Inventory and scope controls let us target specific resource groups and subscriptions without expanding risk surface unnecessarily.

• Define scope at directory, subscription, and resource group levels to match compliance boundaries.
• Use defender cloud’s default agentless posture for rapid reach, then add agents where needed.
• Include multicloud machines and Arc-connected assets in the same management program.
• Document directories and subscriptions in scope and use tags to make targeting and exceptions auditable.
• Validate that discovered resources inherit assessment settings via policy guardrails.

Begin in Inventory and focus on Unhealthy resources to quickly reveal machines that are not yet covered by a vulnerability assessment solution. This is the fastest way to close gaps and reduce exposure.

Go to Inventory, select Unhealthy resources, and apply the filter for the recommendation “Machines should have a vulnerability assessment solution.”

Open that recommendation and follow the remediation steps to enable the appropriate solution. After you enable it, assets can take up to 24 hours to move to Healthy resources.

• We operationalize triage from Inventory and prioritize machines that lack an assessment.
• The recommendation named above serves as a reliable trigger to close onboarding gaps.
• Standardized remediation steps let teams enable the right solution quickly and reduce exposure windows.
• We track findings as machines move from Unhealthy to Healthy, noting status updates may take up to 24 hours.
• Workflows link to change tickets so remediation is documented and reviewable.
• Progress is measured by percent of machines with active assessments and the falling count of critical findings over time.

We integrate these steps into routine ops so teams keep pace with recommendations and maintain a clear dashboard in defender cloud.

We turn raw findings into prioritized workstreams that engineering teams can act on within established SLAs. Centralized review reduces noise and focuses effort where it matters most.

We centralize findings in Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management, correlating severity with business context for actionable prioritization.

Exported scan results let teams compare trends over time and verify that fixes hold. This supports audit-ready reports and regression checks.

We use CVSS or default risk ratings to build SLA-driven queues. That helps operations focus on the most critical issues first.

After enabling an assessment, assets can take up to 24 hours to appear as Healthy in the portal. Plan 2 adds baseline and certificate checks and extra mitigation tooling to continuous cycles.

• Executive summaries show trends in risk reduction and mean time to remediate.
• Regular comparisons of scan results prevent regressions and validate remediation.

We convert prioritized findings into automated patch pipelines that shrink exposure for critical machines and servers. Our process pairs OS patch orchestration with third-party update flows so fixes land quickly and predictably.

We use Update Management to schedule and roll out OS updates across Windows and Linux servers. Automation reduces manual steps and keeps maintenance windows consistent.

For non-Microsoft software, we integrate System Center Configuration Manager and System Center Updates Publisher to publish custom updates into WSUS. This lets Update Management or SCCM push third-party patches from a centralized repository.

• Align remediation with recommendations: convert prioritized findings into scheduled patch jobs.
• Back-to-back scans: run sequential assessment scans and compare scan results to validate fixes.
• Operational safety: embed rollback plans and maintenance windows to preserve service continuity.
• Continuity checks: ensure assessment solution settings remain enabled after reboots and agent updates on machines.

Adopt a phased path: start with broad agentless coverage where eligible, add agent-based depth for high‑value machines, and integrate BYOL tools to preserve existing contracts.

We enforce governance guardrails: confirm Owner for deployment and Security Reader for findings, handle cases where a page requires authorization, and fix tenant context by changing directories when needed.

Success comes from disciplined vulnerability assessment and vulnerability management tied to clear plans, SLAs, and ownership. Configure via the portal (Environment settings → Monitoring coverage) or automate at scale with the mdetvm REST API.

Operationalize findings into remediation tickets, patch windows, and configuration baselines. Unified reporting in Defender for Cloud and Defender Vulnerability Management gives leaders the information to prioritize investments and prove control effectiveness.