diff --git a/cli/internal/cloudcmd/create.go b/cli/internal/cloudcmd/create.go
index 1ff354a09..53460c029 100644
--- a/cli/internal/cloudcmd/create.go
+++ b/cli/internal/cloudcmd/create.go
@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/edgelesssys/constellation/v2/internal/cloud/cloudprovider"
 	"github.com/edgelesssys/constellation/v2/internal/config"
 	"github.com/edgelesssys/constellation/v2/internal/constants"
+	"github.com/edgelesssys/constellation/v2/internal/variant"
 )
 
 // Creator creates cloud resources.
@@ -205,12 +206,17 @@ func (c *Creator) createAzure(ctx context.Context, cl terraformClient, config *c
 		InstanceType:         insType,
 		StateDiskType:        config.Provider.Azure.StateDiskType,
 		ImageID:              image,
-		ConfidentialVM:       *config.Provider.Azure.ConfidentialVM,
 		SecureBoot:           *config.Provider.Azure.SecureBoot,
 		CreateMAA:            config.Provider.Azure.EnforceIDKeyDigest == idkeydigest.MAAFallback,
 		Debug:                config.IsDebugCluster(),
 	}
 
+	attestVariant, err := variant.FromString(config.AttestationVariant)
+	if err != nil {
+		return clusterid.File{}, fmt.Errorf("parsing attestation variant: %w", err)
+	}
+	vars.ConfidentialVM = attestVariant.Equal(variant.AzureSEVSNP{})
+
 	vars = normalizeAzureURIs(vars)
 
 	if err := cl.PrepareWorkspace(path.Join("terraform", strings.ToLower(cloudprovider.Azure.String())), &vars); err != nil {
diff --git a/cli/internal/cloudcmd/create_test.go b/cli/internal/cloudcmd/create_test.go
index cf4440c29..b86a17be2 100644
--- a/cli/internal/cloudcmd/create_test.go
+++ b/cli/internal/cloudcmd/create_test.go
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/edgelesssys/constellation/v2/cli/internal/terraform"
 	"github.com/edgelesssys/constellation/v2/internal/cloud/cloudprovider"
 	"github.com/edgelesssys/constellation/v2/internal/config"
+	"github.com/edgelesssys/constellation/v2/internal/variant"
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
 )
 
@@ -55,29 +56,55 @@ func TestCreator(t *testing.T) {
 			wantTerraformRollback: true,
 		},
 		"azure": {
-			tfClient:      &stubTerraformClient{ip: ip},
-			provider:      cloudprovider.Azure,
-			config:        config.Default(),
+			tfClient: &stubTerraformClient{ip: ip},
+			provider: cloudprovider.Azure,
+			config: func() *config.Config {
+				cfg := config.Default()
+				cfg.AttestationVariant = variant.AzureSEVSNP{}.String()
+				return cfg
+			}(),
+			policyPatcher: &stubPolicyPatcher{},
+		},
+		"azure trusted launch": {
+			tfClient: &stubTerraformClient{ip: ip},
+			provider: cloudprovider.Azure,
+			config: func() *config.Config {
+				cfg := config.Default()
+				cfg.AttestationVariant = variant.AzureTrustedLaunch{}.String()
+				return cfg
+			}(),
 			policyPatcher: &stubPolicyPatcher{},
 		},
 		"azure new policy patch error": {
-			tfClient:      &stubTerraformClient{ip: ip},
-			provider:      cloudprovider.Azure,
-			config:        config.Default(),
+			tfClient: &stubTerraformClient{ip: ip},
+			provider: cloudprovider.Azure,
+			config: func() *config.Config {
+				cfg := config.Default()
+				cfg.AttestationVariant = variant.AzureSEVSNP{}.String()
+				return cfg
+			}(),
 			policyPatcher: &stubPolicyPatcher{someErr},
 			wantErr:       true,
 		},
 		"azure newTerraformClient error": {
 			newTfClientErr: someErr,
 			provider:       cloudprovider.Azure,
-			config:         config.Default(),
-			policyPatcher:  &stubPolicyPatcher{},
-			wantErr:        true,
+			config: func() *config.Config {
+				cfg := config.Default()
+				cfg.AttestationVariant = variant.AzureSEVSNP{}.String()
+				return cfg
+			}(),
+			policyPatcher: &stubPolicyPatcher{},
+			wantErr:       true,
 		},
 		"azure create cluster error": {
-			tfClient:              &stubTerraformClient{createClusterErr: someErr},
-			provider:              cloudprovider.Azure,
-			config:                config.Default(),
+			tfClient: &stubTerraformClient{createClusterErr: someErr},
+			provider: cloudprovider.Azure,
+			config: func() *config.Config {
+				cfg := config.Default()
+				cfg.AttestationVariant = variant.AzureSEVSNP{}.String()
+				return cfg
+			}(),
 			policyPatcher:         &stubPolicyPatcher{},
 			wantErr:               true,
 			wantRollback:          true,
diff --git a/cli/internal/cmd/create.go b/cli/internal/cmd/create.go
index e005d8b80..7e3f27efe 100644
--- a/cli/internal/cmd/create.go
+++ b/cli/internal/cmd/create.go
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/edgelesssys/constellation/v2/internal/config"
 	"github.com/edgelesssys/constellation/v2/internal/constants"
 	"github.com/edgelesssys/constellation/v2/internal/file"
+	"github.com/edgelesssys/constellation/v2/internal/variant"
 	"github.com/spf13/afero"
 	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
 )
@@ -95,7 +96,12 @@ func (c *createCmd) create(cmd *cobra.Command, creator cloudCreator, fileHandler
 		printedAWarning = true
 	}
 
-	if conf.IsAzureNonCVM() {
+	attestVariant, err := variant.FromString(conf.AttestationVariant)
+	if err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("parsing attestation variant: %w", err)
+	}
+
+	if attestVariant.Equal(variant.AzureTrustedLaunch{}) {
 		cmd.PrintErrln("Disabling Confidential VMs is insecure. Use only for evaluation purposes.")
 		printedAWarning = true
 		if conf.IDKeyDigestPolicy() == idkeydigest.StrictChecking || conf.IDKeyDigestPolicy() == idkeydigest.MAAFallback {
diff --git a/cli/internal/image/BUILD.bazel b/cli/internal/image/BUILD.bazel
index 92dcbe67e..1a1edaa40 100644
--- a/cli/internal/image/BUILD.bazel
+++ b/cli/internal/image/BUILD.bazel
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ go_library(
     deps = [
         "//internal/cloud/cloudprovider",
         "//internal/config",
+        "//internal/variant",
         "//internal/versionsapi",
         "//internal/versionsapi/fetcher",
         "@com_github_schollz_progressbar_v3//:progressbar",
@@ -30,6 +31,7 @@ go_test(
         "//internal/cloud/cloudprovider",
         "//internal/config",
         "//internal/file",
+        "//internal/variant",
         "//internal/versionsapi",
         "@com_github_spf13_afero//:afero",
         "@com_github_stretchr_testify//assert",
diff --git a/cli/internal/image/image.go b/cli/internal/image/image.go
index 185d77f11..792105764 100644
--- a/cli/internal/image/image.go
+++ b/cli/internal/image/image.go
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ import (
 
 	"github.com/edgelesssys/constellation/v2/internal/cloud/cloudprovider"
 	"github.com/edgelesssys/constellation/v2/internal/config"
+	"github.com/edgelesssys/constellation/v2/internal/variant"
 	"github.com/edgelesssys/constellation/v2/internal/versionsapi"
 	"github.com/edgelesssys/constellation/v2/internal/versionsapi/fetcher"
 	"github.com/spf13/afero"
@@ -43,7 +44,7 @@ func New() *Fetcher {
 // FetchReference fetches the image reference for a given image version uid, CSP and image variant.
 func (f *Fetcher) FetchReference(ctx context.Context, config *config.Config) (string, error) {
 	provider := config.GetProvider()
-	variant, err := variant(provider, config)
+	variant, err := imageVariant(provider, config)
 	if err != nil {
 		return "", fmt.Errorf("determining variant: %w", err)
 	}
@@ -85,16 +86,20 @@ func (f *Fetcher) FetchReference(ctx context.Context, config *config.Config) (st
 	return getReferenceFromImageInfo(provider, variant, imgInfo)
 }
 
-// variant returns the image variant for a given CSP and configuration.
-func variant(provider cloudprovider.Provider, config *config.Config) (string, error) {
+// imageVariant returns the image variant for a given CSP and configuration.
+func imageVariant(provider cloudprovider.Provider, config *config.Config) (string, error) {
 	switch provider {
 	case cloudprovider.AWS:
 		return config.Provider.AWS.Region, nil
 	case cloudprovider.Azure:
-		if *config.Provider.Azure.ConfidentialVM {
-			return "cvm", nil
+		attestVariant, err := variant.FromString(config.AttestationVariant)
+		if err != nil {
+			return "", fmt.Errorf("parsing attestation variant: %w", err)
 		}
-		return "trustedlaunch", nil
+		if attestVariant.Equal(variant.AzureTrustedLaunch{}) {
+			return "trustedlaunch", nil
+		}
+		return "cvm", nil
 
 	case cloudprovider.GCP:
 		return "sev-es", nil
diff --git a/cli/internal/image/image_test.go b/cli/internal/image/image_test.go
index 30923845a..42289bc19 100644
--- a/cli/internal/image/image_test.go
+++ b/cli/internal/image/image_test.go
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/edgelesssys/constellation/v2/internal/cloud/cloudprovider"
 	"github.com/edgelesssys/constellation/v2/internal/config"
 	"github.com/edgelesssys/constellation/v2/internal/file"
+	"github.com/edgelesssys/constellation/v2/internal/variant"
 	"github.com/edgelesssys/constellation/v2/internal/versionsapi"
 	"github.com/spf13/afero"
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
@@ -108,7 +109,7 @@ func TestGetReference(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
-func TestVariant(t *testing.T) {
+func TestImageVariant(t *testing.T) {
 	testCases := map[string]struct {
 		csp         cloudprovider.Provider
 		config      *config.Config
@@ -125,18 +126,16 @@ func TestVariant(t *testing.T) {
 		"Azure cvm": {
 			csp: cloudprovider.Azure,
 			config: &config.Config{
-				Image: "someImage", Provider: config.ProviderConfig{
-					Azure: &config.AzureConfig{ConfidentialVM: func() *bool { b := true; return &b }()},
-				},
+				AttestationVariant: variant.AzureSEVSNP{}.String(),
+				Image:              "someImage", Provider: config.ProviderConfig{Azure: &config.AzureConfig{}},
 			},
 			wantVariant: "cvm",
 		},
 		"Azure trustedlaunch": {
 			csp: cloudprovider.Azure,
 			config: &config.Config{
-				Image: "someImage", Provider: config.ProviderConfig{
-					Azure: &config.AzureConfig{ConfidentialVM: func() *bool { b := false; return &b }()},
-				},
+				AttestationVariant: variant.AzureTrustedLaunch{}.String(),
+				Image:              "someImage", Provider: config.ProviderConfig{Azure: &config.AzureConfig{}},
 			},
 			wantVariant: "trustedlaunch",
 		},
@@ -172,7 +171,7 @@ func TestVariant(t *testing.T) {
 			assert := assert.New(t)
 			require := require.New(t)
 
-			vari, err := variant(tc.csp, tc.config)
+			vari, err := imageVariant(tc.csp, tc.config)
 			if tc.wantErr {
 				assert.Error(err)
 				return
diff --git a/internal/config/config.go b/internal/config/config.go
index 56abf0289..e58efd54e 100644
--- a/internal/config/config.go
+++ b/internal/config/config.go
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ import (
 	"fmt"
 	"io/fs"
 	"os"
+	"reflect"
 	"strings"
 
 	"github.com/edgelesssys/constellation/v2/internal/attestation/idkeydigest"
@@ -183,7 +184,7 @@ type AzureConfig struct {
 	DeployCSIDriver *bool `yaml:"deployCSIDriver" validate:"required"`
 	// description: |
 	//   Use Confidential VMs. Always needs to be true.
-	ConfidentialVM *bool `yaml:"confidentialVM" validate:"required"`
+	ConfidentialVM *bool `yaml:"confidentialVM,omitempty" validate:"omitempty,deprecated"` // TODO: v2.8 remove
 	// description: |
 	//   Enable secure boot for VMs. If enabled, the OS image has to include a virtual machine guest state (VMGS) blob.
 	SecureBoot *bool `yaml:"secureBoot" validate:"required"`
@@ -330,7 +331,6 @@ func Default() *Config {
 				DeployCSIDriver:      toPtr(true),
 				IDKeyDigest:          idkeydigest.DefaultsFor(cloudprovider.Azure),
 				EnforceIDKeyDigest:   idkeydigest.MAAFallback,
-				ConfidentialVM:       toPtr(true),
 				SecureBoot:           toPtr(false),
 				Measurements:         measurements.DefaultsFor(cloudprovider.Azure),
 			},
@@ -459,11 +459,6 @@ func (c *Config) RemoveProviderExcept(provider cloudprovider.Provider) {
 	}
 }
 
-// IsAzureNonCVM checks whether the chosen provider is azure and confidential VMs are disabled.
-func (c *Config) IsAzureNonCVM() bool {
-	return c.Provider.Azure != nil && c.Provider.Azure.ConfidentialVM != nil && !*c.Provider.Azure.ConfidentialVM
-}
-
 // IsDebugCluster checks whether the cluster is configured as a debug cluster.
 func (c *Config) IsDebugCluster() bool {
 	if c.DebugCluster != nil && *c.DebugCluster {
@@ -544,6 +539,17 @@ func (c *Config) Validate(force bool) error {
 		return err
 	}
 
+	// Register name function to return yaml name tag
+	// This makes sure methods like fl.FieldName() return the yaml name tag instead of the struct field name
+	// e.g. struct{DataType string `yaml:"foo,omitempty"`} will return `foo` instead of `DataType` when calling fl.FieldName()
+	validate.RegisterTagNameFunc(func(fld reflect.StructField) string {
+		name, _, _ := strings.Cut(fld.Tag.Get("yaml"), ",")
+		if name == "-" {
+			return ""
+		}
+		return name
+	})
+
 	// Register AWS, Azure & GCP InstanceType validation error types
 	if err := validate.RegisterTranslation("aws_instance_type", trans, registerTranslateAWSInstanceTypeError, translateAWSInstanceTypeError); err != nil {
 		return err
@@ -613,7 +619,7 @@ func (c *Config) Validate(force bool) error {
 	}
 
 	// register custom validator with label azure_instance_type to validate the Azure instance type from config input.
-	if err := validate.RegisterValidation("azure_instance_type", validateAzureInstanceType); err != nil {
+	if err := validate.RegisterValidation("azure_instance_type", c.validateAzureInstanceType); err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
 
@@ -626,6 +632,10 @@ func (c *Config) Validate(force bool) error {
 		return err
 	}
 
+	if err := validate.RegisterValidation("deprecated", warnDeprecated); err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+
 	// Register provider validation
 	validate.RegisterStructValidation(validateProvider, ProviderConfig{})
 
diff --git a/internal/config/config_doc.go b/internal/config/config_doc.go
index f4948f04b..182f8771f 100644
--- a/internal/config/config_doc.go
+++ b/internal/config/config_doc.go
@@ -251,7 +251,7 @@ func init() {
 	AzureConfigDoc.Fields[9].Comments[encoder.LineComment] = "Deploy Azure Disk CSI driver with on-node encryption. For details see: https://docs.edgeless.systems/constellation/architecture/encrypted-storage"
 	AzureConfigDoc.Fields[10].Name = "confidentialVM"
 	AzureConfigDoc.Fields[10].Type = "bool"
-	AzureConfigDoc.Fields[10].Note = ""
+	AzureConfigDoc.Fields[10].Note = "TODO: v2.8 remove\n"
 	AzureConfigDoc.Fields[10].Description = "Use Confidential VMs. Always needs to be true."
 	AzureConfigDoc.Fields[10].Comments[encoder.LineComment] = "Use Confidential VMs. Always needs to be true."
 	AzureConfigDoc.Fields[11].Name = "secureBoot"
diff --git a/internal/config/validation.go b/internal/config/validation.go
index cba076459..a43a3e73a 100644
--- a/internal/config/validation.go
+++ b/internal/config/validation.go
@@ -102,14 +102,12 @@ func validateAWSInstanceType(fl validator.FieldLevel) bool {
 	return validInstanceTypeForProvider(fl.Field().String(), false, cloudprovider.AWS)
 }
 
-func validateAzureInstanceType(fl validator.FieldLevel) bool {
-	azureConfig := fl.Parent().Interface().(AzureConfig)
-	var acceptNonCVM bool
-	if azureConfig.ConfidentialVM != nil {
-		// This is the inverse of the config value (acceptNonCVMs is true if confidentialVM is false).
-		// We could make the validator the other way around, but this should be an explicit bypass rather than checking if CVMs are "allowed".
-		acceptNonCVM = !*azureConfig.ConfidentialVM
+func (c *Config) validateAzureInstanceType(fl validator.FieldLevel) bool {
+	attestVariant, err := variant.FromString(c.AttestationVariant)
+	if err != nil {
+		return false
 	}
+	acceptNonCVM := attestVariant.Equal(variant.AzureTrustedLaunch{})
 	return validInstanceTypeForProvider(fl.Field().String(), acceptNonCVM, cloudprovider.Azure)
 }
 
@@ -282,7 +280,12 @@ func registerTranslateAzureInstanceTypeError(ut ut.Translator) error {
 func (c *Config) translateAzureInstanceTypeError(ut ut.Translator, fe validator.FieldError) string {
 	// Suggest trusted launch VMs if confidential VMs have been specifically disabled
 	var t string
-	if c.Provider.Azure != nil && c.Provider.Azure.ConfidentialVM != nil && !*c.Provider.Azure.ConfidentialVM {
+
+	attestVariant, err := variant.FromString(c.AttestationVariant)
+	if err != nil {
+		return ""
+	}
+	if attestVariant.Equal(variant.AzureTrustedLaunch{}) {
 		t, _ = ut.T("azure_instance_type", fe.Field(), fmt.Sprintf("%v", instancetypes.AzureTrustedLaunchInstanceTypes))
 	} else {
 		t, _ = ut.T("azure_instance_type", fe.Field(), fmt.Sprintf("%v", instancetypes.AzureCVMInstanceTypes))
@@ -400,7 +403,7 @@ func validateVersionCompatibility(fl validator.FieldLevel) bool {
 }
 
 func validateVersionCompatibilityHelper(binaryVersion, fieldName, configuredVersion string) error {
-	if fieldName == "Image" {
+	if fieldName == "image" {
 		imageVersion, err := versionsapi.NewVersionFromShortPath(configuredVersion, versionsapi.VersionKindImage)
 		if err != nil {
 			return err
@@ -408,7 +411,7 @@ func validateVersionCompatibilityHelper(binaryVersion, fieldName, configuredVers
 		configuredVersion = imageVersion.Version
 	}
 
-	if fieldName == "MicroserviceVersion" {
+	if fieldName == "microserviceVersion" {
 		cliVersion := compatibility.EnsurePrefixV(binaryVersion)
 		serviceVersion := compatibility.EnsurePrefixV(configuredVersion)
 		if semver.Compare(cliVersion, serviceVersion) == -1 {
@@ -522,3 +525,12 @@ func (c *Config) addMissingVariant() {
 		c.AttestationVariant = variant.QEMUVTPM{}.String()
 	}
 }
+
+func warnDeprecated(fl validator.FieldLevel) bool {
+	fmt.Fprintf(
+		os.Stderr,
+		"WARNING: The config key %q is deprecated and will be removed in an upcoming version.\n",
+		fl.FieldName(),
+	)
+	return true
+}
diff --git a/internal/config/validation_test.go b/internal/config/validation_test.go
index 1e12a0ca6..ff3639668 100644
--- a/internal/config/validation_test.go
+++ b/internal/config/validation_test.go
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ func TestValidateVersionCompatibilityHelper(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Run(name, func(t *testing.T) {
 			assert := assert.New(t)
 
-			err := validateVersionCompatibilityHelper(tc.cli, "Image", tc.target)
+			err := validateVersionCompatibilityHelper(tc.cli, "image", tc.target)
 			if tc.wantError {
 				assert.Error(err)
 				return