Other Articles

App Service – Enable Defender

This check ensures that Microsoft Defender is enabled for Azure App Services to provide advanced threat protection, vulnerability assessment, and runtime security monitoring.

Check Details

  • Resource: Azure App Service (Web App)
  • Check: Ensure Microsoft Defender for App Services is Enabled
  • Risk: If Defender is not enabled, web applications may lack advanced threat detection, vulnerability scanning, and protection against common attack vectors such as code injection and exploitation attempts.

Remediation via Azure Portal

  1. Log in to the Azure Portal. Azure Portal dashboard
  2. Navigate to App Services and select the affected Web App. Azure App Services list
  3. Navigate to Microsoft Defender for Cloud. Microsoft Defender for Cloud overview
  4. Click Microsoft Defender for Cloud link. Microsoft Defender for Cloud overview
  5. In the left-hand menu, select Environment settings. Microsoft Defender Environment Settings
  6. Select the appropriate Subscription. Microsoft Defender Subscription
  7. Under Defender plans, locate App Services. Microsoft Defender Plans
  8. Toggle the plan to On (Standard). Enable Defender for App Services
  9. Click Save to apply the changes.

Remediation via Azure CLI

  1. Open Azure Cloud Shell or a local terminal with Azure CLI installed. Azure Cloud Shell
  2. Enable Microsoft Defender for App Services (Standard tier):

    az security pricing create \
      --name AppServices \
      --tier standard
    
  3. Verify that Defender is enabled:

    az security pricing show \
      --name AppServices
    

Ensure that the pricingTier value in the output is set to Standard.