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Event Information

  • The Microsoft.ClassicCompute.virtualMachines.read event in Azure for AzureVirtualMachines refers to the event of reading information about a classic virtual machine in Azure.
  • This event is triggered when a request is made to retrieve details or properties of a classic virtual machine in Azure.
  • It provides information about the virtual machine’s configuration, such as its size, operating system, network settings, and storage details.

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Examples

  1. Unauthorized access to virtual machine information: If security is impacted with Microsoft.ClassicCompute.virtualMachines.read, it means that unauthorized users may be able to read information about the virtual machines in the Azure environment. This could include sensitive data such as IP addresses, configuration details, and operating system information. This can lead to potential security breaches and unauthorized access to the virtual machines.

  2. Exposure of sensitive data: If security is impacted with Microsoft.ClassicCompute.virtualMachines.read, it could potentially expose sensitive data stored within the virtual machines. This data could include customer information, financial data, or any other confidential information that may be stored on the virtual machines. Unauthorized access to this data can have serious consequences and may result in compliance violations.

  3. Increased risk of malicious activities: If security is impacted with Microsoft.ClassicCompute.virtualMachines.read, it can increase the risk of malicious activities within the Azure environment. Attackers may use the information obtained from reading virtual machine details to plan and execute targeted attacks. This can include launching malware, exploiting vulnerabilities, or attempting to gain unauthorized access to other resources within the Azure environment. It is crucial to address this security issue to mitigate the risk of such malicious activities.

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Remediation

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Using Console

To remediate the issues for Azure Virtual Machines using the Azure console, you can follow these step-by-step instructions:

  1. Enable Azure Security Center:

    • Go to the Azure portal and search for “Security Center” in the search bar.
    • Select “Security Center” from the results and click on it.
    • In the Security Center dashboard, click on “Pricing & settings” in the left-hand menu.
    • Choose the subscription and resource group where your Azure Virtual Machines are located.
    • Click on “Apply to all resources” to enable Security Center for all resources in the selected subscription and resource group.
    • Review the pricing tier options and select the appropriate tier for your needs.
    • Click on “Save” to enable Security Center.

  2. Implement Network Security Groups (NSGs):

    • Go to the Azure portal and search for “Virtual Machines” in the search bar.
    • Select “Virtual Machines” from the results and click on it.
    • Choose the virtual machine that you want to secure with NSGs.
    • In the virtual machine’s overview page, click on “Networking” in the left-hand menu.
    • Under “Inbound port rules” and “Outbound port rules”, click on “Add inbound port rule” and “Add outbound port rule” respectively.
    • Configure the necessary rules to allow only the required network traffic and block any unnecessary traffic.
    • Click on “Save” to apply the NSG rules to the virtual machine.

  3. Implement Azure Backup:

    • Go to the Azure portal and search for “Recovery Services vaults” in the search bar.
    • Select “Recovery Services vaults” from the results and click on it.
    • Click on “Add” to create a new Recovery Services vault.
    • Provide the necessary details like subscription, resource group, and vault name.
    • Choose the appropriate region for the vault.
    • Click on “Review + create” and then “Create” to create the vault.
    • Once the vault is created, go to the virtual machine that you want to backup.
    • In the virtual machine’s overview page, click on “Backup” in the left-hand menu.
    • Click on “Backup now” to initiate an immediate backup or configure a backup schedule as per your requirements.

These steps will help you remediate the mentioned issues for Azure Virtual Machines using the Azure console.

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Using CLI

To remediate the issues for Azure Virtual Machines using Azure CLI, you can follow these steps:

  1. Enable Azure Security Center for Azure Virtual Machines:

    • Use the Azure CLI command az vm update --name <vm_name> --resource-group <resource_group_name> --set "properties.securityProfile.securityCenterEnabled=true" to enable Azure Security Center for a specific virtual machine.

  2. Configure Network Security Groups (NSGs) for Azure Virtual Machines:

    • Use the Azure CLI command az network nsg rule create --name <rule_name> --nsg-name <nsg_name> --resource-group <resource_group_name> --priority <priority_number> --source-address-prefixes <source_address_prefix> --destination-port-ranges <destination_port_range> --access <access_type> --protocol <protocol> to create a new NSG rule for a specific NSG and virtual machine.

  3. Implement Azure Backup for Azure Virtual Machines:

    • Use the Azure CLI command az backup protection enable-for-vm --vm <vm_name> --vault-name <vault_name> --resource-group <resource_group_name> --policy-name <policy_name> to enable Azure Backup protection for a specific virtual machine. Replace the placeholders with the appropriate values for your environment.

Please note that the actual CLI commands may vary depending on your specific requirements and configurations. Make sure to replace the placeholders with the actual values relevant to your Azure environment.

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Using Python

To remediate the issues for Azure Virtual Machines using Python, you can use the Azure SDK for Python. Here are three examples of how you can remediate specific issues:

  1. Example 1: Enabling Azure Disk Encryption for Virtual Machines
    • Install the required package: pip install azure-mgmt-compute
    • Use the following Python script to enable Azure Disk Encryption for a specific virtual machine:
from azure.identity import DefaultAzureCredential
from azure.mgmt.compute import ComputeManagementClient

# Authenticate using default credentials
credential = DefaultAzureCredential()

# Provide your Azure subscription ID and resource group name
subscription_id = 'your_subscription_id'
resource_group_name = 'your_resource_group_name'

# Provide the name of the virtual machine
vm_name = 'your_vm_name'

# Create the ComputeManagementClient
compute_client = ComputeManagementClient(credential, subscription_id)

# Enable Azure Disk Encryption for the virtual machine
compute_client.virtual_machines.begin_enable_disk_encryption(resource_group_name, vm_name)
  1. Example 2: Resizing a Virtual Machine
    • Install the required package: pip install azure-mgmt-compute
    • Use the following Python script to resize a specific virtual machine:
from azure.identity import DefaultAzureCredential
from azure.mgmt.compute import ComputeManagementClient

# Authenticate using default credentials
credential = DefaultAzureCredential()

# Provide your Azure subscription ID and resource group name
subscription_id = 'your_subscription_id'
resource_group_name = 'your_resource_group_name'

# Provide the name of the virtual machine
vm_name = 'your_vm_name'

# Provide the new size for the virtual machine
new_vm_size = 'Standard_DS2_v2'

# Create the ComputeManagementClient
compute_client = ComputeManagementClient(credential, subscription_id)

# Resize the virtual machine
compute_client.virtual_machines.begin_update(resource_group_name, vm_name, {'hardware_profile': {'vm_size': new_vm_size}})
  1. Example 3: Applying Network Security Group (NSG) Rules to a Virtual Machine
    • Install the required package: pip install azure-mgmt-network
    • Use the following Python script to apply NSG rules to a specific virtual machine:
from azure.identity import DefaultAzureCredential
from azure.mgmt.network import NetworkManagementClient

# Authenticate using default credentials
credential = DefaultAzureCredential()

# Provide your Azure subscription ID and resource group name
subscription_id = 'your_subscription_id'
resource_group_name = 'your_resource_group_name'

# Provide the name of the virtual machine
vm_name = 'your_vm_name'

# Provide the name of the NSG and the desired rules
nsg_name = 'your_nsg_name'
nsg_rules = [
    {
        'name': 'AllowSSH',
        'protocol': 'Tcp',
        'source_port_range': '*',
        'destination_port_range': '22',
        'source_address_prefix': '*',
        'destination_address_prefix': '*',
        'access': 'Allow',
        'priority': 100,
        'direction': 'Inbound'
    },
    {
        'name': 'AllowHTTP',
        'protocol': 'Tcp',
        'source_port_range': '*',
        'destination_port_range': '80',
        'source_address_prefix': '*',
        'destination_address_prefix': '*',
        'access': 'Allow',
        'priority': 200,
        'direction': 'Inbound'
    }
]

# Create the NetworkManagementClient
network_client = NetworkManagementClient(credential, subscription_id)

# Get the virtual machine's network interface
vm_nic = network_client.network_interfaces.get(resource_group_name, f'{vm_name}-nic')

# Get the NSG associated with the network interface
nsg = network_client.network_security_groups.get(resource_group_name, nsg_name)

# Update the NSG rules
nsg.security_rules = nsg_rules

# Update the NSG associated with the network interface
network_client.network_security_groups.begin_create_or_update(resource_group_name, nsg_name, nsg)

# Update the network interface
vm_nic.network_security_group = nsg

# Update the network interface associated with the virtual machine
network_client.network_interfaces.begin_create_or_update(resource_group_name, f'{vm_name}-nic', vm_nic)

Please note that you need to replace the placeholders (your_subscription_id, your_resource_group_name, your_vm_name, your_nsg_name, etc.) with the actual values specific to your Azure environment.