Can furring strips be installed diretly to a cinderblock wall not in a basement?
This is related to your question, but something I felt like commenting on: since your CMU exterior walls are covered up with vinyl siding, you have a perfect opportunity to insulate your house, which should give you quite a lot of bang for buck given that it currently has none. Remove the vinyl siding (carefully), cover the CMUs with 3+ inches of rigid foam or mineral wool boards, and then re-install the siding right over that. The difference in comfort and utility bills should be dramatic.