Microsoft Defender for Cloud

Build Cloud Security Explorer Queries for Software Vulnerabilities - Microsoft Defender for Cloud | Microsoft Learn

29 September 2026Doc update+10 / −8 lines

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The page title and headings were simplified, portal navigation wording was updated, and “drop-down” was standardized to “dropdown.” Two authoring references were also added.

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Build Cloud Security Explorer queriesQueries for software vulnerabilities in VMs and container imagesSoftware Vulnerabilities - Microsoft Defender for Cloud | Microsoft Learn

You can use Cloud Security Explorer to identify software vulnerabilities. The following examples show how to build queries for virtual machines (VMs) and container images.

To create a query that finds software vulnerabilities in VMs:

Sign in to the Azure portal.
Go to Microsoft Defender for Cloud > Cloud Security Explorer.
Filter for the software installed on VMs.
Select View details for the VM you want to investigate.
In the Result details pane, go to Insights and select the software from the ~~drop-down~~dropdown list for review.
View the details of the installed software in the Insights section.

To create a query that finds software vulnerabilities in container images:

Sign in to the Azure portal.
Go toMicrosoft Defender for Cloud > Cloud Security Explorer.
Filter for the software installed in container images.
Select View details for the container image you want to investigate.
In the Result details pane, go to Insights and select the software from the ~~drop-down~~dropdown list for review.
View the details of the installed software in the Insights section.

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@ --- layout: Conceptual-title: Build Cloud Security Explorer queries for software vulnerabilities in VMs and container images - Microsoft Defender for Cloud | Microsoft Learn+title: Build Cloud Security Explorer Queries for Software Vulnerabilities - Microsoft Defender for Cloud | Microsoft Learn canonicalUrl: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/defender-for-cloud/cloud-security-explorer-software-vulnerabilities breadcrumb_path: /azure/breadcrumb/defender-for-cloud/toc.json feedback_help_link_url: https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/microsoft-defender-for-cloud/bd-p/MicrosoftDefenderCloud@@ -34,12 +34,14 @@ item_type: Content source_path: defender-for-cloud/cloud-security-explorer-software-vulnerabilities.md cmProducts: - https://authoring-docs-microsoft.poolparty.biz/devrel/8e3fdb08-a059-4277-98f6-c0e21e940707+- https://authoring-docs-microsoft.poolparty.biz/devrel/2ed91286-6cf7-4b83-810d-75d0ee3b09dd spProducts: - https://authoring-docs-microsoft.poolparty.biz/devrel/88291526-9c74-4f87-878c-de0a82134421+- https://authoring-docs-microsoft.poolparty.biz/devrel/6735bd7e-4f7b-457d-b58c-29e6f0198677 platformId: 56ee4874-7762-24f8-1358-e5d2a01eb207 --- -# Build Cloud Security Explorer queries for software vulnerabilities in VMs and container images - Microsoft Defender for Cloud | Microsoft Learn+# Build Cloud Security Explorer Queries for Software Vulnerabilities - Microsoft Defender for Cloud | Microsoft Learn  You can use Cloud Security Explorer to identify software vulnerabilities. The following examples show how to build queries for virtual machines (VMs) and container images.
 
@@ -49,15 +51,15 @@ For an introduction to Cloud Security Explorer queries, see [Build queries with 
 To create a query that finds software vulnerabilities in VMs:
 
-1. Sign in to the [Microsoft Defender for Cloud in the Azure portal](https://portal.azure.com).
-2. Go to [Microsoft Defender for Cloud &gt; Cloud Security Explorer](https://ms.portal.azure.com/#view/Microsoft_Azure_Security/SecurityMenuBlade/%7E/SecurityGraph).
+1. Sign in to the [Azure portal](https://portal.azure.com).
+2. Go to **Microsoft Defender for Cloud** &gt; [Cloud Security Explorer](https://ms.portal.azure.com/#view/Microsoft_Azure_Security/SecurityMenuBlade/%7E/SecurityGraph).
 
     [![Screenshot of main page of Cloud Security Explorer.](media/cloud-security-explorer-software-vulnerabilities/cloud-security-explorer-main-page.png)](media/concept-cloud-map/cloud-security-explorer-main-page.png#lightbox)
 3. Filter for the software installed on VMs.
 
     [![Screenshot of Cloud Security Explorer query options to retrieve list of VMs with software installed.](media/cloud-security-explorer-software-vulnerabilities/security-explorer-vm-query.png)](media/cloud-security-explorer-software-vulnerabilities/security-explorer-vm-query.png#lightbox)
 4. Select **View details** for the VM you want to investigate.
-5. In the **Result details** pane, go to **Insights** and select the software from the drop-down list for review.
+5. In the **Result details** pane, go to **Insights** and select the software from the dropdown list for review.
 
     [![Screenshot shows results of Cloud Security Explorer query to retrieve VMs with software installed.](media/cloud-security-explorer-software-vulnerabilities/security-explorer-vm-query-result-details.png)](media/cloud-security-explorer-software-vulnerabilities/security-explorer-vm-query-result-details.png#lightbox)
 6. View the details of the installed software in the Insights section.
@@ -68,15 +70,15 @@ To create a query that finds software vulnerabilities in VMs: 
 To create a query that finds software vulnerabilities in container images:
 
-1. Sign in to the [Microsoft Defender for Cloud in the Azure portal](https://portal.azure.com).
-2. Go to [Microsoft Defender for Cloud &gt; Cloud Security Explorer](https://ms.portal.azure.com/#view/Microsoft_Azure_Security/SecurityMenuBlade/%7E/SecurityGraph).
+1. Sign in to the [Azure portal](https://portal.azure.com).
+2. Go to **Microsoft Defender for Cloud** &gt; [Cloud Security Explorer](https://ms.portal.azure.com/#view/Microsoft_Azure_Security/SecurityMenuBlade/%7E/SecurityGraph).
 
     [![Screenshot of main page of Cloud Security Explorer.](media/cloud-security-explorer-software-vulnerabilities/cloud-security-explorer-main-page.png)](media/concept-cloud-map/cloud-security-explorer-main-page.png#lightbox)
 3. Filter for the software installed in container images.
 
     [![Screenshot of Cloud Security Explorer query options to retrieve list of container images with software installed.](media/cloud-security-explorer-software-vulnerabilities/security-explorer-containers-query.png)](media/cloud-security-explorer-software-vulnerabilities/security-explorer-containers-query.png#lightbox)
 4. Select **View details** for the container image you want to investigate.
-5. In the **Result details** pane, go to **Insights** and select the software from the drop-down list for review.
+5. In the **Result details** pane, go to **Insights** and select the software from the dropdown list for review.
 
     [![Screenshot shows results of Cloud Security Explorer query to retrieve container images with software installed.](media/cloud-security-explorer-software-vulnerabilities/security-explorer-containers-query-result-details.png)](media/cloud-security-explorer-software-vulnerabilities/security-explorer-containers-query-result-details.png#lightbox)
 6. View the details of the installed software in the Insights section.