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Azure.GA_2021_12#

Warning

This baseline is obsolete. Consider switching to a newer baseline.

Include rules released December 2021 or prior for Azure GA features.

Rules#

The following rules are included within the Azure.GA_2021_12 baseline.

This baseline includes a total of 243 rules.

Name Synopsis Severity
Azure.ACR.AdminUser The local admin account allows depersonalized access to a container registry using a shared secret. Critical
Azure.ACR.ContainerScan Container images or their base images may have vulnerabilities discovered after they are built. Critical
Azure.ACR.ContentTrust Use container images signed by a trusted image publisher. Important
Azure.ACR.GeoReplica Applications or infrastructure relying on a container image may fail if the registry is not available at the time they start. Important
Azure.ACR.ImageHealth Remove container images with known vulnerabilities. Critical
Azure.ACR.MinSku ACR should use the Premium or Standard SKU for production deployments. Important
Azure.ACR.Name Container registry names should meet naming requirements. Awareness
Azure.ACR.Usage Regularly remove deprecated and unneeded images to reduce storage usage. Important
Azure.AKS.AuditLogs AKS clusters should collect security-based audit logs to assess and monitor the compliance status of workloads. Important
Azure.AKS.AuthorizedIPs Restrict access to API server endpoints to authorized IP addresses. Important
Azure.AKS.AutoScaling Use autoscaling to scale clusters based on workload requirements. Important
Azure.AKS.AutoUpgrade Configure AKS to automatically upgrade to newer supported AKS versions as they are made available. Important
Azure.AKS.AvailabilityZone AKS clusters deployed with virtual machine scale sets should use availability zones in supported regions for high availability. Important
Azure.AKS.AzurePolicyAddOn Configure Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) clusters to use Azure Policy Add-on for Kubernetes. Important
Azure.AKS.AzureRBAC Use Azure RBAC for Kubernetes Authorization with AKS clusters. Important
Azure.AKS.CNISubnetSize AKS clusters using Azure CNI should use large subnets to reduce IP exhaustion issues. Important
Azure.AKS.ContainerInsights Enable Container insights to monitor AKS cluster workloads. Important
Azure.AKS.DNSPrefix Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) cluster DNS prefix should meet naming requirements. Awareness
Azure.AKS.HttpAppRouting Disable HTTP application routing add-on in AKS clusters. Important
Azure.AKS.ManagedAAD Use AKS-managed Azure AD to simplify authorization and improve security. Important
Azure.AKS.ManagedIdentity Configure AKS clusters to use managed identities for managing cluster infrastructure. Important
Azure.AKS.MinNodeCount AKS clusters should have minimum number of system nodes for failover and updates. Important
Azure.AKS.Name Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) cluster names should meet naming requirements. Awareness
Azure.AKS.NetworkPolicy AKS clusters without inter-pod network restrictions may be permit unauthorized lateral movement. Important
Azure.AKS.NodeMinPods Azure Kubernetes Cluster (AKS) nodes should use a minimum number of pods. Important
Azure.AKS.PlatformLogs AKS clusters should collect platform diagnostic logs to monitor the state of workloads. Important
Azure.AKS.PoolScaleSet Deploy AKS clusters with nodes pools based on VM scale sets. Important
Azure.AKS.PoolVersion AKS node pools should match Kubernetes control plane version. Important
Azure.AKS.SecretStore Deploy AKS clusters with Secrets Store CSI Driver and store Secrets in Key Vault. Important
Azure.AKS.SecretStoreRotation Enable autorotation of Secrets Store CSI Driver secrets for AKS clusters. Important
Azure.AKS.StandardLB Azure Kubernetes Clusters (AKS) should use a Standard load balancer SKU. Important
Azure.AKS.UseRBAC Deploy AKS cluster with role-based access control (RBAC) enabled. Important
Azure.AKS.Version AKS control plane and nodes pools should use a current stable release. Important
Azure.APIM.APIDescriptors APIs should have a display name and description. Awareness
Azure.APIM.CertificateExpiry Renew certificates used for custom domain bindings. Important
Azure.APIM.HTTPBackend Use HTTPS for communication to backend services. Critical
Azure.APIM.HTTPEndpoint Enforce HTTPS for communication to API clients. Important
Azure.APIM.ManagedIdentity Configure managed identities to access Azure resources. Important
Azure.APIM.Name API Management service names should meet naming requirements. Awareness
Azure.APIM.ProductApproval Configure products to require approval. Important
Azure.APIM.ProductDescriptors API Management products should have a display name and description. Awareness
Azure.APIM.ProductSubscription Configure products to require a subscription. Important
Azure.APIM.ProductTerms Set legal terms for each product registered in API Management. Important
Azure.APIM.Protocols API Management should only accept a minimum of TLS 1.2 for client and backend communication. Critical
Azure.APIM.SampleProducts Remove starter and unlimited sample products. Awareness
Azure.AppConfig.Name App Configuration store names should meet naming requirements. Awareness
Azure.AppConfig.SKU App Configuration should use a minimum size of Standard. Important
Azure.AppGw.AvailabilityZone Application Gateway (App Gateway) should use availability zones in supported regions for improved resiliency. Important
Azure.AppGw.MinInstance Application Gateways should use a minimum of two instances. Important
Azure.AppGw.MinSku Application Gateway should use a minimum instance size of Medium. Important
Azure.AppGw.OWASP Application Gateway Web Application Firewall (WAF) should use OWASP 3.x rules. Important
Azure.AppGw.Prevention Internet exposed Application Gateways should use prevention mode to protect backend resources. Critical
Azure.AppGw.SSLPolicy Application Gateway should only accept a minimum of TLS 1.2. Critical
Azure.AppGw.UseHTTPS Application Gateways should only expose frontend HTTP endpoints over HTTPS. Critical
Azure.AppGw.UseWAF Internet accessible Application Gateways should use protect endpoints with WAF. Critical
Azure.AppGw.WAFEnabled Application Gateway Web Application Firewall (WAF) must be enabled to protect backend resources. Critical
Azure.AppGw.WAFRules Application Gateway Web Application Firewall (WAF) should have all rules enabled. Important
Azure.AppInsights.Name Azure Application Insights resources names should meet naming requirements. Awareness
Azure.AppInsights.Workspace Configure Application Insights resources to store data in a workspace. Important
Azure.AppService.AlwaysOn Configure Always On for App Service apps. Important
Azure.AppService.ARRAffinity Disable client affinity for stateless services. Awareness
Azure.AppService.HTTP2 Use HTTP/2 instead of HTTP/1.x to improve protocol efficiency. Awareness
Azure.AppService.ManagedIdentity Configure managed identities to access Azure resources. Important
Azure.AppService.MinPlan Use at least a Standard App Service Plan. Important
Azure.AppService.MinTLS App Service should reject TLS versions older than 1.2. Critical
Azure.AppService.PlanInstanceCount App Service Plan should use a minimum number of instances for failover. Important
Azure.AppService.RemoteDebug Disable remote debugging on App Service apps when not in use. Important
Azure.AppService.UseHTTPS Azure App Service apps should only accept encrypted connections. Important
Azure.ASG.Name Application Security Group (ASG) names should meet naming requirements. Awareness
Azure.Automation.AuditLogs Ensure automation account audit diagnostic logs are enabled. Important
Azure.Automation.EncryptVariables Azure Automation variables should be encrypted. Important
Azure.Automation.ManagedIdentity Ensure Managed Identity is used for authentication. Important
Azure.Automation.PlatformLogs Ensure automation account platform diagnostic logs are enabled. Important
Azure.Automation.WebHookExpiry Do not create webhooks with an expiry time greater than 1 year (default). Awareness
Azure.CDN.EndpointName Azure CDN Endpoint names should meet naming requirements. Awareness
Azure.CDN.HTTP Enforce HTTPS for client connections. Important
Azure.CDN.MinTLS Azure CDN endpoints should reject TLS versions older than 1.2. Important
Azure.Cosmos.AccountName Cosmos DB account names should meet naming requirements. Awareness
Azure.Cosmos.DisableMetadataWrite Use Entra ID identities for management place operations in Azure Cosmos DB. Important
Azure.DataFactory.Version Consider migrating to DataFactory v2. Awareness
Azure.DefenderCloud.Contact Microsoft Defender for Cloud email and phone contact details should be set. Important
Azure.DefenderCloud.Provisioning Enable auto-provisioning on to improve Microsoft Defender for Cloud insights. Important
Azure.EventGrid.ManagedIdentity Use managed identities to deliver Event Grid Topic events. Important
Azure.EventGrid.TopicPublicAccess Use Private Endpoints to access Event Grid topics and domains. Important
Azure.Firewall.Mode Deny high confidence malicious IP addresses and domains on classic managed Azure Firewalls. Critical
Azure.Firewall.Name Firewall names should meet naming requirements. Awareness
Azure.Firewall.PolicyName Firewall policy names should meet naming requirements. Awareness
Azure.FrontDoor.MinTLS Front Door Classic instances should reject TLS versions older than 1.2. Critical
Azure.FrontDoor.Name Front Door names should meet naming requirements. Awareness
Azure.FrontDoor.Probe Use health probes to check the health of each backend. Important
Azure.FrontDoor.ProbeMethod Configure health probes to use HEAD requests to reduce performance overhead. Important
Azure.FrontDoor.ProbePath Configure a dedicated path for health probe requests. Important
Azure.FrontDoor.State Enable Azure Front Door Classic instance. Important
Azure.FrontDoor.UseWAF Enable Web Application Firewall (WAF) policies on each Front Door endpoint. Critical
Azure.FrontDoor.WAF.Enabled Front Door Web Application Firewall (WAF) policy must be enabled to protect back end resources. Critical
Azure.FrontDoor.WAF.Mode Use protection mode in Front Door Web Application Firewall (WAF) policies to protect back end resources. Critical
Azure.FrontDoor.WAF.Name Front Door WAF policy names should meet naming requirements. Awareness
Azure.Identity.UserAssignedName Managed Identity names should meet naming requirements. Awareness
Azure.KeyVault.AccessPolicy Use the principal of least privilege when assigning access to Key Vault. Important
Azure.KeyVault.KeyName Key Vault Key names should meet naming requirements. Awareness
Azure.KeyVault.Logs Ensure audit diagnostics logs are enabled to audit Key Vault access. Important
Azure.KeyVault.Name Key Vault names should meet naming requirements. Awareness
Azure.KeyVault.PurgeProtect Enable Purge Protection on Key Vaults to prevent early purge of vaults and vault items. Important
Azure.KeyVault.SecretName Key Vault Secret names should meet naming requirements. Awareness
Azure.KeyVault.SoftDelete Enable Soft Delete on Key Vaults to protect vaults and vault items from accidental deletion. Important
Azure.LB.AvailabilityZone Load balancers deployed with Standard SKU should be zone-redundant for high availability. Important
Azure.LB.Name Load Balancer names should meet naming requirements. Awareness
Azure.LB.Probe Use a specific probe for web protocols. Important
Azure.LB.StandardSKU Load balancers should be deployed with Standard SKU for production workloads. Important
Azure.LogicApp.LimitHTTPTrigger Limit HTTP request trigger access to trusted IP addresses. Critical
Azure.Monitor.ServiceHealth Configure Service Health alerts to notify administrators. Important
Azure.MySQL.AllowAzureAccess Determine if access from Azure services is required. Important
Azure.MySQL.FirewallIPRange Determine if there is an excessive number of permitted IP addresses. Important
Azure.MySQL.FirewallRuleCount Determine if there is an excessive number of firewall rules. Awareness
Azure.MySQL.MinTLS MySQL DB servers should reject TLS versions older than 1.2. Critical
Azure.MySQL.ServerName Azure MySQL DB server names should meet naming requirements. Awareness
Azure.MySQL.UseSSL Enforce encrypted MySQL connections. Critical
Azure.NIC.Attached Network interfaces (NICs) that are not used should be removed. Awareness
Azure.NIC.Name Network Interface (NIC) names should meet naming requirements. Awareness
Azure.NIC.UniqueDns Network interfaces (NICs) should inherit DNS from virtual networks. Awareness
Azure.NSG.AnyInboundSource Network security groups (NSGs) should avoid rules that allow "any" as an inbound source. Critical
Azure.NSG.Associated Network Security Groups (NSGs) should be associated to a subnet or network interface. Awareness
Azure.NSG.DenyAllInbound Avoid denying all inbound traffic. Important
Azure.NSG.LateralTraversal Deny outbound management connections from non-management hosts. Important
Azure.NSG.Name Network Security Group (NSG) names should meet naming requirements. Awareness
Azure.Policy.AssignmentAssignedBy Policy assignments should use assignedBy metadata. Awareness
Azure.Policy.AssignmentDescriptors Policy assignments should use a display name and description. Awareness
Azure.Policy.Descriptors Policy and initiative definitions should use a display name, description, and category. Awareness
Azure.Policy.ExemptionDescriptors Policy exemptions should use a display name and description. Awareness
Azure.Policy.WaiverExpiry Configure policy waiver exemptions to expire. Awareness
Azure.PostgreSQL.AllowAzureAccess Determine if access from Azure services is required. Important
Azure.PostgreSQL.FirewallIPRange Determine if there is an excessive number of permitted IP addresses. Important
Azure.PostgreSQL.FirewallRuleCount Determine if there is an excessive number of firewall rules. Awareness
Azure.PostgreSQL.MinTLS PostgreSQL DB servers should reject TLS versions older than 1.2. Critical
Azure.PostgreSQL.ServerName Azure PostgreSQL DB server names should meet naming requirements. Awareness
Azure.PostgreSQL.UseSSL Enforce encrypted PostgreSQL connections. Critical
Azure.PrivateEndpoint.Name Private Endpoint names should meet naming requirements. Awareness
Azure.PublicIP.AvailabilityZone Public IP addresses deployed with Standard SKU should use availability zones in supported regions for high availability. Important
Azure.PublicIP.DNSLabel Public IP domain name labels should meet naming requirements. Awareness
Azure.PublicIP.IsAttached Public IP addresses should be attached or cleaned up if not in use. Important
Azure.PublicIP.Name Public IP names should meet naming requirements. Awareness
Azure.PublicIP.StandardSKU Public IP addresses should be deployed with Standard SKU for production workloads. Important
Azure.RBAC.CoAdministrator Delegate access to manage Azure resources using role-based access control (RBAC). Important
Azure.RBAC.LimitMGDelegation Limit Role-Base Access Control (RBAC) inheritance from Management Groups. Important
Azure.RBAC.LimitOwner Limit the number of subscription Owners. Important
Azure.RBAC.PIM Use just-in-time (JiT) activation of roles instead of persistent role assignment. Important
Azure.RBAC.UseGroups Use groups for assigning permissions instead of individual user accounts. Important
Azure.RBAC.UseRGDelegation Use RBAC assignments on resource groups instead of individual resources. Important
Azure.Redis.AvailabilityZone Premium Redis cache should be deployed with availability zones for high availability. Important
Azure.Redis.MaxMemoryReserved Configure maxmemory-reserved to reserve memory for non-cache operations. Important
Azure.Redis.MinSKU Use Azure Cache for Redis instances of at least Standard C1. Important
Azure.Redis.MinTLS Redis Cache should reject TLS versions older than 1.2. Critical
Azure.Redis.NonSslPort Azure Cache for Redis should only accept secure connections. Critical
Azure.RedisEnterprise.Zones Enterprise Redis cache should be zone-redundant for high availability. Important
Azure.Resource.AllowedRegions Resources should be deployed to allowed regions. Important
Azure.Resource.UseTags Azure resources should be tagged using a standard convention. Awareness
Azure.ResourceGroup.Name Resource Group names should meet naming requirements. Awareness
Azure.Route.Name Route table names should meet naming requirements. Awareness
Azure.Search.IndexSLA Use a minimum of 3 replicas to receive an SLA for query and index updates. Important
Azure.Search.ManagedIdentity Configure managed identities to access Azure resources. Important
Azure.Search.Name AI Search service names should meet naming requirements. Awareness
Azure.Search.QuerySLA Use a minimum of 2 replicas to receive an SLA for index queries. Important
Azure.Search.SKU Use the basic and standard tiers for entry level workloads. Critical
Azure.ServiceFabric.AAD Use Entra ID client authentication for Service Fabric clusters. Critical
Azure.SignalR.Name SignalR service instance names should meet naming requirements. Awareness
Azure.SQL.AAD Use Entra ID authentication with Azure SQL databases. Critical
Azure.SQL.AllowAzureAccess Determine if access from Azure services is required. Important
Azure.SQL.Auditing Enable auditing for Azure SQL logical server. Important
Azure.SQL.DBName Azure SQL Database names should meet naming requirements. Awareness
Azure.SQL.DefenderCloud Enable Microsoft Defender for Azure SQL logical server. Important
Azure.SQL.FGName Azure SQL failover group names should meet naming requirements. Awareness
Azure.SQL.FirewallIPRange Determine if there is an excessive number of permitted IP addresses set in the allowed IP list (CIDR range). Important
Azure.SQL.FirewallRuleCount Determine if there is an excessive number of firewall rules. Awareness
Azure.SQL.MinTLS Azure SQL Database servers should reject TLS versions older than 1.2. Critical
Azure.SQL.ServerName Azure SQL logical server names should meet naming requirements. Awareness
Azure.SQL.TDE Use Transparent Data Encryption (TDE) with Azure SQL Database. Critical
Azure.SQLMI.Name SQL Managed Instance names should meet naming requirements. Awareness
Azure.Storage.BlobAccessType Use containers configured with a private access type that requires authorization. Important
Azure.Storage.BlobPublicAccess Storage Accounts should only accept authorized requests. Important
Azure.Storage.Firewall Storage Accounts should only accept explicitly allowed traffic. Important
Azure.Storage.MinTLS Storage Accounts should reject TLS versions older than 1.2. Critical
Azure.Storage.Name Storage Account names should meet naming requirements. Awareness
Azure.Storage.SecureTransfer Storage accounts should only accept encrypted connections. Important
Azure.Storage.SoftDelete Enable blob soft delete on Storage Accounts. Important
Azure.Storage.UseReplication Storage Accounts not using geo-replicated storage (GRS) or zone-redundant (ZRS) may be at risk. Important
Azure.Template.DebugDeployment Use default deployment detail level for nested deployments. Awareness
Azure.Template.ExpressionLength Template expressions should not exceed the maximum length. Awareness
Azure.Template.LocationDefault Set the default value for the location parameter within an ARM template to resource group location. Awareness
Azure.Template.LocationType Location parameters should use a string value. Important
Azure.Template.MetadataLink Configure a metadata link for each parameter file. Important
Azure.Template.ParameterDataTypes Set the parameter default value to a value of the same type. Important
Azure.Template.ParameterFile Use ARM template parameter files that are valid. Important
Azure.Template.ParameterMetadata Set metadata descriptions in Azure Resource Manager (ARM) template for each parameter. Awareness
Azure.Template.ParameterMinMaxValue Template parameters minValue and maxValue constraints must be valid. Important
Azure.Template.ParameterScheme Use an Azure template parameter file schema with the https scheme. Awareness
Azure.Template.ParameterStrongType Set the parameter value to a value that matches the specified strong type. Awareness
Azure.Template.ParameterValue Specify a value for each parameter in template parameter files. Awareness
Azure.Template.ResourceLocation Resource locations should be an expression or global. Awareness
Azure.Template.Resources Each Azure Resource Manager (ARM) template file should deploy at least one resource. Awareness
Azure.Template.TemplateFile Use ARM template files that are valid. Important
Azure.Template.TemplateSchema Use a more recent version of the Azure template schema. Awareness
Azure.Template.TemplateScheme Use an Azure template file schema with the https scheme. Awareness
Azure.Template.UseComments Use comments for each resource in ARM template to communicate purpose. Awareness
Azure.Template.UseDescriptions Use descriptions for each resource in generated template(bicep, psarm, AzOps) to communicate purpose. Awareness
Azure.Template.UseLocationParameter Template should reference a location parameter to specify resource location. Awareness
Azure.TrafficManager.Endpoints Traffic Manager should use at lest two enabled endpoints. Important
Azure.TrafficManager.Protocol Monitor Traffic Manager web-based endpoints with HTTPS. Important
Azure.VM.AcceleratedNetworking Use accelerated networking for supported operating systems and VM types. Important
Azure.VM.ADE Use Azure Disk Encryption (ADE). Important
Azure.VM.Agent Ensure the VM agent is provisioned automatically. Important
Azure.VM.ASAlignment Use availability sets aligned with managed disks fault domains. Important
Azure.VM.ASMinMembers Availability sets should be deployed with at least two virtual machines (VMs). Important
Azure.VM.ASName Availability Set names should meet naming requirements. Awareness
Azure.VM.BasicSku Virtual machines (VMs) should not use Basic sizes. Important
Azure.VM.ComputerName Virtual Machine (VM) computer name should meet naming requirements. Awareness
Azure.VM.DiskAttached Managed disks should be attached to virtual machines or removed. Important
Azure.VM.DiskCaching Check disk caching is configured correctly for the workload. Important
Azure.VM.DiskName Managed Disk names should meet naming requirements. Awareness
Azure.VM.DiskSizeAlignment Align to the Managed Disk billing increments to improve cost efficiency. Awareness
Azure.VM.Name Virtual Machine (VM) names should meet naming requirements. Awareness
Azure.VM.PPGName Proximity Placement Group (PPG) names should meet naming requirements. Awareness
Azure.VM.PromoSku Virtual machines (VMs) should not use expired promotional SKU. Awareness
Azure.VM.PublicKey Linux virtual machines should use public keys. Important
Azure.VM.Standalone Use VM features to increase reliability and improve covered SLA for VM configurations. Important
Azure.VM.Updates Ensure automatic updates are enabled at deployment. Important
Azure.VM.UseHybridUseBenefit Use Azure Hybrid Benefit for applicable virtual machine (VM) workloads. Awareness
Azure.VM.UseManagedDisks Virtual machines (VMs) should use managed disks. Important
Azure.VMSS.ComputerName Virtual Machine Scale Set (VMSS) computer name should meet naming requirements. Awareness
Azure.VMSS.Name Virtual Machine Scale Set (VMSS) names should meet naming requirements. Awareness
Azure.VNET.LocalDNS Virtual networks (VNETs) should use DNS servers deployed within the same Azure region. Important
Azure.VNET.Name Virtual Network (VNET) names should meet naming requirements. Awareness
Azure.VNET.PeerState VNET peering connections must be connected. Important
Azure.VNET.SingleDNS Virtual networks (VNETs) should have at least two DNS servers assigned. Important
Azure.VNET.SubnetName Subnet names should meet naming requirements. Awareness
Azure.VNET.UseNSGs Virtual network (VNET) subnets should have Network Security Groups (NSGs) assigned. Critical
Azure.VNG.ConnectionName Virtual Network Gateway (VNG) connection names should meet naming requirements. Awareness
Azure.VNG.ERAvailabilityZoneSKU Use availability zone SKU for virtual network gateways deployed with ExpressRoute gateway type. Important
Azure.VNG.ERLegacySKU Migrate from legacy SKUs to improve reliability and performance of ExpressRoute (ER) gateways. Critical
Azure.VNG.Name Virtual Network Gateway (VNG) names should meet naming requirements. Awareness
Azure.VNG.VPNActiveActive Use VPN gateways configured to operate in an Active-Active configuration to reduce connectivity downtime. Important
Azure.VNG.VPNAvailabilityZoneSKU Use availability zone SKU for virtual network gateways deployed with VPN gateway type. Important
Azure.VNG.VPNLegacySKU Migrate from legacy SKUs to improve reliability and performance of VPN gateways. Critical
Azure.vWAN.Name Virtual WAN (vWAN) names should meet naming requirements. Awareness