Configuring Patch

If you did not install Patch with the Apply All Tanium recommended configurations, you must enable and configure certain features.

(Tanium Core Platform 7.4.5 or later only) You can set the Patch action group to target the No Computers filter group by enabling restricted targeting before adding Patch to your Tanium licenseimporting Patch. This option enables you to control tools deployment through scheduled actions that are created during the import and that target the Tanium Patch action group. For example, you might want to test tools on a subset of endpoints before deploying the tools to all endpoints. In this case, you can manually deploy the tools to an action group that you configured to target only the subset. To configure an action group, see Tanium Console User Guide: Managing action groups. To enable or disable restricted targeting, see Tanium Console User Guide: Dependencies, default settings, and tools deployment.

When you import Patch with automatic configuration, the following default settings for managing Windows and Linux endpoints are configured:

The following default settings for managing Windows and Linux endpoints are configured for Patch:

Setting Default value
Action group
  • Restricted targeting disabled (default): Patch Supported Systems computer group
  • Restricted targeting enabled: No Computers computer group
Advanced settings

The following advanced setting is configured for optimal delivery of larger payloads:

  • ClientCacheLimitInMB = 2048

For more information, see Configure advanced settings
Patch computer groups

Computer groups that Patch requires are imported:

  • All Alma Linux 8
  • All Amazon
  • All Debian
  • All Debian 8
  • All Debian 9
  • All Debian 10
  • All Debian 11
  • All CentOS 6
  • All CentOS 7
  • All CentOS 8
  • All OpenSUSE 15
  • All Oracle 6
  • All Oracle 7
  • All Oracle 8
  • All Red Hat 6
  • All Red Hat 7
  • All Red Hat 8
  • All Red Hat 9
  • All Rocky Linux 8
  • All SLES 11
  • All SLES 12
  • All SLES 15
  • All SUSE

  • All Ubuntu
  • All Ubuntu 14.04 - amd64
  • All Ubuntu 14.04 - i386
  • All Ubuntu 14.04 - arm64
  • All Ubuntu 16.04 - amd64
  • All Ubuntu 16.04 - i386
  • All Ubuntu 16.04 - arm64
  • All Ubuntu 18.04 - amd64
  • All Ubuntu 18.04 - i386
  • All Ubuntu 18.04 - arm64
  • All Ubuntu 20.04 - amd64
  • All Ubuntu 20.04 - i386
  • All Ubuntu 20.04 - arm64
  • All Ubuntu 22.04 - amd64
  • All Ubuntu 22.04 - i386
  • All Ubuntu 22.04 - arm64
  • All Windows
  • All Windows Servers
  • Patch Supported Systems
Patch scans

  • Tanium Scan for Windows is configured and synchronized.

  • Default scan configurations are created for Windows and Linux and enforced by the recommended computer group.

Tanium Scan does not include any Red Hat repositories because authentication for cdn.redhat.com must first be configured. For more information, see (Red Hat endpoints) Configure Tanium Server to use certificate authentication(Red Hat endpoints) Configure Tanium Cloud to use certificate authentication.
Patch lists

The following patch lists are automatically created:

  • [Patch Baseline Deployment] - Windows
  • [Tanium Patch Baseline Reporting] - Windows
  • [Tanium Patch Baseline Reporting] - Linux
  • All Patches

  • [Tanium Patch Recommended Updates] - Windows

For more information, see Default patch lists.
Patch block lists
  • The [Global Block List] - Windows block list is created and targets the Patch Supported Systems computer group. This block list excludes Security Only patches on Windows systems. For more information, see Microsoft update and servicing details.
  • A default block list is created for Linux but is not targeted.
Patch deployment templates

Default deployment templates are created for Windows and Linux.
Patch maintenance windows
  • A [Patch Tuesday] - Windows default maintenance window is created for Patch Tuesday and is not enforced on any computer groups.
  • Default maintenance windows are created for Windows and Linux to block patch installations and reboots without first enabling another maintenance window. These maintenance windows are not enforced to any computer groups.

Configure advanced settings

You can configure the Tanium platform for optimal delivery of larger payloads, which are typically associated with patching activity.

  1. From the Main menu, go to Administration > Configuration > Settings > Advanced Settings.
  2. To increase the client cache size, click Add Setting, provide the following information, and click Save.
    Setting Type: Client
    Platform Setting Name: ClientCacheLimitInMB
    Value Type: Numeric
    Value : 2048

Changes to platform settings can take up to five hours to propagate to clients.

Install and configure Tanium End-User Notifications for Windows endpoints

Configure Tanium End-User Notifications for Windows endpoints

With the Tanium End-User Notifications solution, you can create a notification message with your deployment to notify the user that the Windows system is going to restart, and give the user the option to postpone the restart.

For more information, see Tanium End-User Notifications User Guide: End-User Notifications overview.

Disable Windows Update restart prompts

The Windows Update Agent automatically prompts users to restart their machine when an update is installed from any user or source. The following Windows Local/Group Policies should be configured to allow Tanium End-User Notifications to control endpoint restarts.

  1. In the Windows Local Group Policy Editor, go to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Windows Update.
  2. Enable the No auto-restart for scheduled Automatic Updates installations parameter.
  3. Disable the Re-prompt for restart with scheduled installations parameter.

Install and configure Configure Tanium Endpoint Configuration

Manage solution configurations with Tanium Endpoint Configuration

Tanium Endpoint Configuration delivers configuration information and required tools for Tanium Solutions to endpoints. Endpoint Configuration consolidates the configuration actions that traditionally accompany additional Tanium functionality and eliminates the potential for timing errors that occur between when a solution configuration is made and the time that configuration reaches an endpoint. Managing configuration in this way greatly reduces the time to install, configure, and use Tanium functionality, and improves the flexibility to target specific configurations to groups of endpoints.

Endpoint Configuration is installed as a part of Tanium Client Management. For more information, see the Tanium Client Management User Guide: Installing Client Management.

Optionally, you can use Endpoint Configuration to require approval of configuration changes. When configuration approvals are enabled, Endpoint Configuration does not deploy a configuration change to endpoints until a user with approval permission approves the change. For information about the roles and permissions that are required to approve configuration changes for Patch, see User role requirements. For more information about enabling and using configuration approvals in Endpoint Configuration, see Tanium Endpoint Configuration User Guide: Managing approvals.

For solutions to Solutions cannot perform configuration changes or tool deployment through Endpoint Configuration on endpoints with action locks turned on, you must enable the Manifest Package Ignore Action Lock and Deploy Client Configuration and Support Package Ignore Action Lock settings. To access these settings, from the Endpoint Configuration Overview page, click Settings and select Global. on. As a best practice, do not turn on action locks. For more information about action locks, see Tanium Console User Guide: Managing action locks.

For more information about Endpoint Configuration, see Tanium Endpoint Configuration User Guide.

If you enabled configuration approvals, the following configuration changes must be approved in Endpoint Configuration before they deploy to endpoints:

  • Creating, updating, or deleting patch lists
  • Adding or removing enforcements
  • Removing all enforcements
  • Updating scan configuration priorities
  • Creating deployments
  • Stopping deployments
  • Adding targets to deployments
  • User-initiated actions, such as initializing endpoints, uploading custom field files, enabling Linux

Configure Patch

(Optional) Configure the Patch action group for Windows and Linux endpoints

Importing the Patch module automatically creates an action group to target specific endpoints. If you did not use automatic configuration or you enabled restricted targeting when you imported Patch, the action group targets No Computers.

If you used automatic configuration and restricted targeting was disabled when you imported Patch, configuring the Patch action group is optional.

Select the computer groups to include in the Patch action group.

Clear the selection for No Computers and make Make sure that all operating systems that are supported by Patch are included in the Patch action group.

  1. From the Main menu, go to Administration > Actions > Action Groups.
  2. Click Patch.
  3. Select the computer groups that you want to include in the action group and click Save.
    If you select multiple computer groups, choose an operator (AND or OR) to combine the groups.

Next steps

Initialize Patch on Windows and Linux endpoints .

Organize computer groups for Windows and Linux endpoints

One way to apply Windows and Linux patches and view deployment results is by computer group. Create relevant computer groups to organize your endpoints. Some options include:

  • Endpoint type, such as servers or employee workstations
  • Endpoint location, such as by country or time zone
  • Endpoint priority, such as business-critical machines
  • Endpoint configuration needs, such as VDI machines

Manual computer groups are not supported in Patch. For more information, see Tanium Core Platform User Guide: Managing computer groups.

Organize computer groups by operating system generation for useful visibility and scan configuration targeting.

Computer group Filter Purpose
All Windows1 Is Windows equals True
  • Visibility

  • Scan configuration targeting
All Windows Servers1 Windows OS Type equals Windows Server
  • Visibility
  • Scan configuration targeting
All Windows Servers - Physical Windows OS Type contains windows and Is Virtual equals no Scan configuration targeting
All Windows Servers - Virtual Windows OS Type contains windows and Is Virtual equals yes Scan configuration targeting
All Windows Workstations Windows OS Type equals Windows Workstation Scan configuration targeting
All Windows Workstations - Physical Windows OS Type contains windows workstation and Is Virtual equals no Scan configuration targeting
All Windows Workstations - Virtual Windows OS Type contains windows workstation and Is Virtual equals yes Scan configuration targeting
All CentOS 61 Operating System Generation equals CentOS 6
  • Visibility
  • Scan configuration targeting
All CentOS 71 Operating System Generation equals CentOS 7
  • Visibility
  • Scan configuration targeting
All CentOS 81 Operating System Generation equals CentOS 8
  • Visibility
  • Scan configuration targeting
All Red Hat 61 Operating System Generation equals Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
  • Visibility
  • Scan configuration targeting
All Red Hat 71 Operating System Generation equals Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
  • Visibility
  • Scan configuration targeting
All Red Hat 81 Operating System Generation equals Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
  • Visibility
  • Scan configuration targeting
All Red Hat 91 Operating System Generation equals Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
  • Visibility
  • Scan configuration targeting
All Oracle 61 Operating System Generation equals Oracle Linux Server 6
  • Visibility
  • Scan configuration targeting
All Oracle 71 Operating System Generation equals Oracle Linux Server 7
  • Visibility
  • Scan configuration targeting
All Oracle 81 Operating System Generation equals Oracle Linux Server 8
  • Visibility
  • Scan configuration targeting
All Amazon1 Operating System Generation equals Amazon Linux
  • Visibility
  • Scan configuration targeting
All Amazon Linux 1 Operating System Generation equals Amazon Linux 1
  • Visibility
  • Scan configuration targeting
All Amazon Linux 2 Operating System Generation equals Amazon Linux 2
  • Visibility
  • Scan configuration targeting
All SUSE1 Operating System contains SUSE
  • Visibility
  • Scan configuration targeting
All SLES 111 Operating System Generation contains SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11
  • Visibility
  • Scan configuration targeting
All SLES 121 Operating System Generation contains SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12
  • Visibility
  • Scan configuration targeting
All SLES 151 Operating System Generation contains SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15
  • Visibility
  • Scan configuration targeting
All Ubuntu Operating System Generation contains Ubuntu
  • Visibility
  • Scan configuration targeting
All Ubuntu 14.04 - amd64 Operating System Generation matches Ubuntu 14.04 and CPU Architecture matches amd64|x86_64
  • Visibility
  • Scan configuration targeting
All Ubuntu 14.04 - i386 Operating System Generation matches Ubuntu 14.04 and CPU Architecture matches x86|i386
  • Visibility
  • Scan configuration targeting
All Ubuntu 14.04 - arm64 Operating System Generation matches Ubuntu 14.04 and CPU Architecture matches arm64|aarch64
  • Visibility
  • Scan configuration targeting
All Ubuntu 16.04 - amd64 Operating System Generation matches Ubuntu 16.04 and CPU Architecture matches amd64|x86_64
  • Visibility
  • Scan configuration targeting
All Ubuntu 16.04 - i386 Operating System Generation matches Ubuntu 16.04 and CPU Architecture matches x86|i386
  • Visibility
  • Scan configuration targeting
All Ubuntu 16.04 - arm64 Operating System Generation matches Ubuntu 16.04 and CPU Architecture matches arm64|aarch64
  • Visibility
  • Scan configuration targeting
All Ubuntu 18.04 - amd64 Operating System Generation matches Ubuntu 18.04 and CPU Architecture matches amd64|x86_64
  • Visibility
  • Scan configuration targeting
All Ubuntu 18.04 - i386 Operating System Generation matches Ubuntu 18.04 and CPU Architecture matches x86|i386
  • Visibility
  • Scan configuration targeting
All Ubuntu 18.04 - arm64 Operating System Generation matches Ubuntu 18.04 and CPU Architecture matches arm64|aarch64
  • Visibility
  • Scan configuration targeting
All Ubuntu 20.04 - amd64 Operating System Generation matches Ubuntu 20.04 and CPU Architecture matches amd64|x86_64
  • Visibility
  • Scan configuration targeting
All Ubuntu 20.04 - i386 Operating System Generation matches Ubuntu 20.04 and CPU Architecture matches x86|i386
  • Visibility
  • Scan configuration targeting
All Ubuntu 20.04 - arm64 Operating System Generation matches Ubuntu 20.04 and CPU Architecture matches arm64|aarch64
  • Visibility
  • Scan configuration targeting
All Ubuntu 22.04 - amd64 Operating System Generation matches Ubuntu 22.04 and CPU Architecture matches amd64|x86_64
  • Visibility
  • Scan configuration targeting
All Ubuntu 22.04 - i386 Operating System Generation matches Ubuntu 16.04 and CPU Architecture matches x86|i386
  • Visibility
  • Scan configuration targeting
All Ubuntu 22.04 - arm64 Operating System Generation matches Ubuntu 22.04 and CPU Architecture matches arm64|aarch64
  • Visibility
  • Scan configuration targeting
All Debian Operating System Generation contains Debian
  • Visibility
  • Scan configuration targeting
All Debian 8 Operating System Generation contains Debian 8
  • Visibility
  • Scan configuration targeting
All Debian 9 Operating System Generation contains Debian 9
  • Visibility
  • Scan configuration targeting
All Debian 10 Operating System Generation contains Debian 10
  • Visibility
  • Scan configuration targeting
All Debian 11 Operating System Generation contains Debian 11
  • Visibility
  • Scan configuration targeting
Tanium Scan Supported Windows Windows OS Major Version > 6.0 and Tanium Client Version >= 7.2.314.3211
  • Visibility
  • Scan configuration targeting
All Linux1 Operating System contains Linux
  • Visibility
  • Scan configuration targeting
Patch Supported Systems1 Patch - Supported Scan Types matches ".*(Repo|Tanium|CAB|Online).*"
  • Visibility
  • Patch action group
1 Patch creates this computer group if you select the Apply All Tanium recommended configurations option during installation on Tanium Core Platform 7.4.2 or later.This computer group is created by default.

Set up Patch users

You can use the following set of predefined user roles to set up Patch users.

To review specific permissions for each role, see User role requirements.

On installation, Patch creates a Patch user to automatically manage the Patch service account. Do not edit or delete the Patch user.

For more information about assigning user roles, see Tanium Core Platform User Guide: Manage role assignments for a user.

Patch Administrator

Assign the Patch Administrator role to users who manage the configuration and deployment of Patch functionality to endpoints.
This role can perform the following tasks:

  • Configure all Patch settings
  • Manage block lists, deployments, maintenance windows, patch lists, repositories, and scan configurations
  • View the Patch statistics logs
  • View all configurations, graphs, and reporting data in Patch

Patch Configuration Author

Assign the Patch Configuration Author role to users who manage Patch configurations.
This role can perform the following tasks:

  • Manage block lists, maintenance windows, patch lists, and repository snapshots
  • View deployments and repositories
  • View Patch settings
  • View all configurations, graphs, and reporting data in Patch

Patch Deployment Author

Assign the Patch Deployment Author role to users who manage Patch deployments.
This role can perform the following tasks:

  • Manage deployments
  • View block lists, maintenance windows, and patch lists
  • View Patch settings
  • View all configurations, graphs, and reporting data in Patch

Patch Endpoint Configuration Approver

Assign the Patch Endpoint Configuration Approver role to a user who approves or rejects Patch configuration items in Tanium Endpoint Configuration.
This role approves, rejects, or dismisses changes that target endpoints where Patch is installed.

Patch Operator

Assign the Patch Operator role to users who manage the configuration and deployment of Patch functionality to endpoints.
This role can perform the following tasks:

  • Manage block lists, deployments, maintenance windows, patchlists, repositories, and scan configurations
  • View all configurations, graphs, and reporting data in Patch

Patch Read Only User

Assign the Patch Read Only User role to users who need visibility into Patch data.
This role can view all configurations, graphs, and reporting data in Patch.

Patch Super User

Assign the Patch Super User role to users who manage the configuration and deployment of Patch functionality to endpoints.
This role can perform the following tasks:

  • Manage block lists, deployments, maintenance windows, patchlists, repositories, and scan configurations
  • View all configurations, graphs, and reporting data in Patch

Patch MDM Enforcement Author

Assign the Patch MDM Enforcement Author role to users who manage the configuration and deployment of Patch functionality to endpoints.
This role can create, edit, and delete all Mac Patching enforcements.

Patch MDM Enforcement Viewer

Assign the Patch Enforcement Viewer role to users who manage the configuration and deployment of Patch functionality to endpoints.
This role can read all Mac Patching enforcements.

Do not assign the Patch Service Account and Patch Service Account - All Content Sets roles to users. These roles are for internal purposes only.

For more information about role permissions and associated content sets, see Tanium Console User Guide: Managing RBAC.

Enable and configure Configure Windows features

Before you can use certain Patch features for Windows endpoints, you must enable or configure them:

Enable and configure Tanium Scan for Windows

For more information about Tanium Scan for Windows, see Tanium Scan.

  1. From the Patch menu, go to Scan Management.
  2. Click Tanium Scan for Windows and then click Edit.

  3. Select Enable Tanium Scan for Windows and select a scan source.

    If you select Local WSUS Server, enter the URL and choose a PEM file containing the certificate authority for the WSUS server. The certificate should be the Base64-encoded ASCII, certificate chain format.

  4. Click Synchronize Now to perform the required initial synchronization.
  5. If you want to synchronize after Microsoft releases many significant patches, select Enable Schedule Synchronization.

  6. Use the arrows to select products to include in scans.

    Synchronize all products, regardless of which products are present in the environment. Selectively choosing products can cause gaps in critical or important patches.

  7. Use the arrows to select update classifications to include in scans.

    Select Critical Updates, Security Updates, Service Packs, and Update Rollups.

  8. Click Submit.

    Click Synchronize Now after you make any changes.

Configure Tanium Scan for Windows

  1. From the Patch menu, go to Scan Management.
  2. Click Tanium Scan for Windows and then click Edit.
  3. If you want to synchronize after Microsoft releases many significant patches, select Enable Schedule Synchronization.

  4. Use the arrows to select products to include in scans.

    Synchronize all products, regardless of which products are present in the environment. Selectively choosing products can cause gaps in critical or important patches.

  5. Use the arrows to select update classifications to include in scans.

    Select Critical Updates, Security Updates, Service Packs, and Update Rollups.

  6. Click Submit.

    Click Synchronize Now after you make any changes.

Configure WSUS Scan

  1. Add the WSUS Server URL.
    1. On the Patch Overview page, click Settings and then click Configuration Settings if needed.
    2. In the WSUS Server Configuration section, enter the URL and click Submit. A regular expression for the URL is generated and added.
    3. Click View Allowed URLs, or go to Administration > Permissions > Allowed URLs to view the entry that was added.
  2. On the WSUS server, change the following settings:
    1. Set the intranet URL for detecting updates and the statistics server to: http://<WSUS server URL>:<port>.
    2. Disable the Configure Automatic Updates setting.

Enable direct patch downloads from Microsoft

For Windows scan configurations, you can enable direct patch downloads from Microsoft to isolated remote endpoints. This option reduces the impact on network resources. If the direct download fails, the endpoint downloads patches from the Tanium Server.

Cautions and considerations

Endpoints must be in a list of virtual private network (VPN) subnets or allowed Zone Servers that you configure. Configure VPN ranges only where clients have a direct path to the Microsoft URLs that are listed in Internet URLs . The following configurations are recommended:

  • Define the IP address ranges that are used by endpoints that connect to Tanium over a split-tunnel VPN. Use for split-tunnel VPN ranges with a separate route to download patches from the Internet. Isolated endpoints within the defined ranges attempt to download patches directly from Microsoft.
  • Define the public IP addresses or Internet-resolvable fully qualified domain names of Internet-facing Zone Servers. Isolated Tanium Clients that are connected to these Zone Servers attempt to download patches directly from Microsoft.

Do not specify the following VPNs or Zone Servers:

  • Split-tunnel VPNs where endpoints still send traffic bound for Microsoft URLs through the internal corporate network
  • Full-tunnel VPNs
  • Zone Servers that are used in an internal security zone

Clients that use WSUS scan configurations leverage the location that is defined by WSUS. Unless the WSUS server is configured to download patches from Microsoft instead of storing them locally, do not enable direct downloads for a WSUS Scan configuration. For more information about how to specify where updates are stored, see Microsoft article Update storage options.

  1. On the Patch Overview page, click Settings and then click Configuration Settings if needed.
  2. In the Patch Direct Downloads section, specify network information:
    1. Select VPN Networks, Zone Servers, or both.
    2. Add one or more networks or servers, or, if previously created, choose from the list.
  3. Click Save.

To enable remote endpoints to download patches directly from Microsoft, you must also enable direct downloads in each scan configuration. For more information, see Create a scan configuration.

Tracking direct download status

Review current and past patch downloads directly from Microsoft over the Internet.

  1. In Interact, ask the Get Patch - Direct Downloads Statuses from all machines question.
  2. Choose the time period in hours; for example, downloads in the last three hours.
  3. Choose whether to include in-progress downloads in the results.
  4. Choose whether to include failed downloads in the results.
  5. Click Ask Question.

The results grid shows a row for each download attempt and its status.

Enable and configure Linux features

Before you can use certain Patch features for Linux endpoints, you must enable and configure them:

Migration of OS-based Linux configurations to Enhanced Linux configurations

After you enable support for Enhanced Linux distributions, Patch migrates any existing OS-based Linux configurations (scan configurations, patch lists, block lists, maintenance windows, and deployment templates) for Red Hat, CentOS, Ubuntu, Oracle, and Amazon to use Enhanced Linux distributions.

Targeting for migrated configurations continue to be filtered to the existing OS-based Linux configurations, so that the same endpoints remain targeted after migration. Migration does not add targeting for unenforced objects, nor does it create a configuration that supports multiple operating systems. You must create a configuration that supports multiple operating systems after migration.

Patch does not select a default deployment template for the new Linux platform. If you want to define a default deployment template, you define it after the automated portion of the migration completes.

Linux Endpoint Behavior Changes

Linux endpoint behavior depends on your current configuration:

  • If this is a new Patch module installation, Patch enables Enhanced Linux Support by default.

  • If this is an existing Patch module installation, where Patch for Linux endpoints has never been enabled, Linux configurations remain disabled until you enable Enhanced Linux Support.

  • If this is an existing Patch module installation, where Patch for Linux endpoints has been enabled, your OS-based Linux configurations remain the same until you enable Enhanced Linux Support.

After you migrate to Enhanced Linux Support, Patch no longer separates operating system selections for Linux. Instead, it creates a single category for all Linux operating systems. Scan configurations can have repositories for multiple Linux operating systems. You can add targets to repositories to ensure they are only used with the proper OS/version targets included in the scan configuration targets. If an endpoint does not meet the criteria for any repositories in a scan configuration, Patch continues to the next targeted scan configuration.

Enable Patch for Enhanced Linux configurations

Before you begin, ensure that you meet the prerequisites listed in Core platform dependencies.

If this is a new Patch module installation, no action is required.

If this is an upgraded Patch module installation, complete the following steps:

  1. On the Patch Overview page, click Settings .

  2. In the Operating Systems tab, select Enhanced Linux Support and click Save.

    After you enable this option, you cannot disable it.

  3. Review the Migration of Linux Configurations message and click Acknowledge and Begin Migration.

  4. On the confirmation window, click Yes.

  5. (Optional) Click Set Default Template to set a default deployment template for Enhanced Linux Support.

Add and target Linux repositories

To patch Linux endpoints, you must first add repositories that apply to those endpoints, and then use the repositories to target computer groups that contain the endpoints. SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) repositories use URLs that are unique for each customer, so the process for adding those repositories differs from other versions of Linux.

Before you begin patching SLES endpoints, make sure that at least one endpoint for each OS version that you want to support in Patch is registered with SUSE.

  1. From the Patch menu, go to Scan Management and then click Repositories.

  2. Click Add Repository.

    3. You can also click Edit to edit existing repositories.

  3. Add a name, and then select whether the repository contains RPM or DEB packages.

  4. For RPM repositories, specify the following options as needed:
    1. Add a URL for the repository.

      If you are adding a SLES repository, use the following steps to more easily identify the names and URLs for the repositories that your endpoints use.

      1. In a separate browser tab, go to Modules > Interact.

      2. Ask the following question:

        Get Patch - Repositories from all machines with Operating System Generation contains SUSE

        For more information, see Tanium Interact User Guide: Asking questions.

      3. For the repository that you want to add, hover over the Name cell, click Options Options, and then click Copy Copy.

      4. In the original browser tab, in the Add Repository dialog, paste the cell contents into the Name field, and then select RPM from the Type drop-down menu.

      5. In the browser tab with the question results, hover over the Base URL cell, click Options Options, and then click Copy Copy.

      6. In the original browser tab, in the Add Repository dialog, paste the cell contents into the URL field.

    2. (Optional) Enable GPG Check and Repo GPG Check to confirm authenticity by verifying GPG signatures.

      Red Hat operating systems do not support Repo GPG Check. If you specify that option in a Red Hat repository configuration, Tanium scans will not run.

  5. For DEB repositories, specify the following options as needed:
    1. Add a URL for the repository.
    2. Specify the distribution and components for the release. You can add up to five components for the repository.
    3. In the Release file signing section, select InRelease if the release file is signed inline, or select Release.gpg if the release file has an accompanying GPG file.
    4. In the GPG Key section, select an option to confirm package authenticity and then enter additional information as needed.

  6. Click Submit.

  7. Expand the repository that you just created, and then click Select Computer Groups.

  8. Select the computer groups that will use the repository, and then click Save.

  9. (Optional) Create snapshots of repositories. For more information, see Manage Linux repository snapshots.

(Red Hat endpoints) Configure Tanium Server to use certificate authentication

(Red Hat endpoints) Configure Tanium Cloud to use certificate authentication

To use Tanium Scan with Red Hat patch content on Red Hat Linux endpoints, you must configure the Tanium Server (version 7.5.3.1249 and later)Tanium Cloud to use certificate authentication for downloads from the Red Hat Content Delivery Network (CDN) or an internal Red Hat Satellite server. This process involves requesting the certificates and private keys from Red Hat and configuring the certificates in the Tanium Console.

  1. Obtain a valid client certificate and private key from the Red Hat Customer Portal or from the Satellite server. For more information about preparing a Red Hat client authentication certificate for use with Tanium, see Tanium Community: Red Hat certificate for Tanium downloads (login required).

  2. Use the Downloads Authentication page to configure the certificates that are necessary for Tanium Cloudthe Tanium Server and remote sources to authenticate for Red Hat patching.

    For detailed information about configuring downloads authentication, see Tanium Console User Guide: Managing downloads authentication.

    If you are using Tanium Server version 7.5.2.3552 or earlier, you must configure TDownloader to use certificate authentication.

    In an active-active high availability (HA) cluster, you must configure both Tanium Servers to use Tanium Scan with Red Hat patch content on Red Hat Linux endpoints.

    1. Copy the following Red Hat text and use it to create a master CA certificate file with a .crt extension.
      ClosedClick here to view the certificate text.

      To avoid confusion, give the file a clear name, such as Red Hat Entitlement Master CA.crt.

    2. From the Main menu, go to Administration > Configuration > Downloads Authentication > Trusted Certificates and click Add Trusted Certificate.

    3. Select the certificate that you created and click Open.
    4. In the Display Name field, enter Red Hat Entitlement Master CA and then click Add.
    5. Click Remote Sources > Add Entry.
    6. Specify the following options:
      1. URI: https://cdn.redhat.com
      2. Display Name: Red Hat CDN
      3. Authentication Type: Select Certificate Authentication.
      4. Authentication Certificate: Click Upload Certificate to locate and upload the entitlement certificate file.
      5. Private Key: Click Upload Private Key to locate and upload the entitlement certificate private key.
    7. Click Save.

    As you configure the Tanium Server, you might be required to provide separate authentication certificates and URLs for different Red Hat products. For example, you might have an authentication certificate associated with Red Hat Server products that you configure for use with https://cdn.redhat.com. However, you might also need a separate authentication certificate for Extended Life Cycle Support add-on for RHEL, and you need to configure it for use with https://cdn.redhat.com/content/els. In this scenario, you can repeat the appropriate steps for each of the products that require an authentication certificate.

Next steps

(Red Hat) Edit the [Tanium Scan] - Linux scan management technique to include the Red Hat repositories. For more information, see Edit a scan configuration.

(Red Hat endpoints) Configure TDownloader to use certificate authentication (Tanium Server version 7.5.2.3552 and earlier)

Closed Click to expand.

To use Tanium Scan with Red Hat's patch content on Red Hat Linux endpoints, you must configure Tanium Downloader (TDownloader) to use certificate authentication for downloads from Red Hat's Content Delivery Network (CDN) or an internal Red Hat Satellite server. Obtain a valid client certificate and private key from the Red Hat Customer Portal or from the Satellite server. After you have acquired the client authentication certificate, complete the appropriate steps to configure the Tanium Server.

Configure TDownloader on Tanium Server (Appliance)

If you are using an internal repository secured by a self-signed or an internal CA-signed certificate, Contact Tanium Support to configure the Tanium Servers to trust this certificate.

In an active-active configuration, you must perform the following steps on both Tanium Servers.

  1. Upload the SSL client private key and client certificate to your Tanium Appliance. Use SFTP with the tancopy account and copy the files to the /incoming folder.
  2. Using the TanOS menu, verify that the Tanium Server can reach cdn.redhat.com or the Red Hat Satellite server by name:
    1. Enter 3 to go to the Tanium Support menu.
    2. Enter 4 to go to the Run Network Diagnostics menu.
    3. Enter 1 to select the Ping Remote System option.
  3. Add the CA root certificate for the Red Hat CDN:
    1. Enter 2 to go to the Tanium Operations menu.
    2. Enter 2 to go to the Tanium Configuration Settings menu.
    3. Enter 13 to go to the Control RedHat CA Cert menu.
    4. Enter 1 to select the redhat-uep.pem option.
    5. Enter 2 to install the redhat-uep.pem certificate.
  4. Add the Red Hat Entitlement client certificate and key:
    1. Enter 2 to go to the Tanium Operations menu.
    2. Enter 2 to go to the Tanium Configuration Settings menu.
    3. Enter 4 to select the Add Tanium Server TDL Auth Cert option.
    4. Enter the URL (https://cdn.redhat.com or the Red Hat Satellite server), client certificate file name, and the SSL client private key file name at each prompt.
    5. At the #Line Content display, enter R to return to the previous menu.

For more information, see Tanium Appliance Deployment Guide: Manage authentication certificates for Tanium Patch connections with Red Hat.

Configure TDownloader on Tanium Server (Windows)

  1. Copy the SSL client private key, client certificate, and satellite server certificate to your Tanium Server.
  2. Ensure that the Tanium Server can reach cdn.redhat.com or the Red Hat Satellite server by name.
    Example:
    ping cdn.redhat.com
  3. On each Tanium Server, configure TDownloader to use certificate authentication for downloads to the Red Hat Satellite server.
    Example:
    cmd-prompt>TDownloader.exe add-auth-cert --url https://cdn.redhat.com --cert C:\client-certificate.pem --key C:\client-key.pem
    where:
    • https://cdn.redhat.com is the URL prefix for the satellite server download URLs
    • C:\client-certficate.pem is the client certificate
    • C:\client-key.pem is the client certificate private key
  4. Check the TDownloader config to see that your certificate has been configured.
    ClosedClick here to view the TDownloader config.
  5. To configure TDownloader to work with the Red Hat CDN, use a text editor to append the PEM-encoded certificate for cdn.redhat.com to the end of the certificate file as referenced by the TrustedCertPath value from the previous step (Example: C:\Program Files\Tanium\Tanium Server\Certs\installedcacert.crt).
    ClosedClick here to view the certificate.

Next steps

(Red Hat) Edit the [Tanium Scan] - Linux scan management technique to include the Red Hat repositories. For more information, see Edit a scan configuration.

Manage Linux repository snapshots

Repository snapshots have the following requirements:

  1. From the Patch menu, go to Scan Management and then click Repositories.
  2. To create a snapshot, select a repository and then click Create Snapshot. Name the snapshot and click Confirm.
  3. To rename a snapshot, expand a repository and then click Rename Snapshot . Provide a new name and click Confirm.
  4. To permanently remove unneeded snapshots, click Delete Snapshot .
  5. To remove failed snapshots across all repositories; for example, those for which the environment was not properly set up, click Delete Failed Snapshots.

Export a Linux repository

You can facilitate the migration of patch content by exporting repositories. The exported file includes all settings and definitions, except for repository snapshots. This is particularly useful in progressive deployment models where patches must be moved from a testing environment to a production environment.

  1. From the Patch menu, go to Scan Management, and then click Repositories.

  2. Select a repository and then click Export.

The JSON file is available in your downloads folder.

Import a Linux repository

You can import an exported repository into a new environment.

You cannot import a repository with the same name as an existing repository.

  1. From the Patch menu, go to Scan Management, and then click Repositories.

  2. Click Import Repository and then click Choose File.
  3. Browse to the list in .JSON extension and then click Import.

Be sure to that your Patch action groups and End User Notification action groups include all necessary versions of macOS. For more information, see Configuring Patch and Tanium End-User Notifications User Guide: Configure End-User Notifications action group.

Initialize Patch on Windows and Linux endpoints

Patch installs a set of tools on each Windows and Linux endpoint that you have targeted. Initializing or reinitializing Patch is a common troubleshooting step.

Patch does not work on endpoints with action locks turned on. Be sure action locks are turned off on endpoints that you want to target with Patch. See Tanium Console User Guide: Managing action locks.

  1. On the Patch Overview page, click Help and then click Support if needed.
  2. Click Initialize Endpoints to start the Patch service and begin distributing these tools to your endpoints.

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