Viewing patch data and patch data rollup for the Vulnerability Response Patch Orchestration integration with Microsoft SCCM

  • Release version: Xanadu
  • Updated August 1, 2024
  • 3 minutes to read
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    Summary of Viewing patch data and patch data rollup for the Vulnerability Response Patch Orchestration integration with Microsoft SCCM

    This documentation explains how ServiceNow customers can view and manage patch data and patch data rollups within the Vulnerability Response Patch Orchestration integration using Microsoft SCCM. It highlights where and how patch and vulnerability remediation information is displayed, the roles required to access this data, and how patch orchestration features integrate with Vulnerability Response Workspaces and dashboards.

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    Access and Roles

    • snvulpatchorch.configurepatch: Needed to configure and schedule patches.
    • snvulpatchorch.readpatch: Required for read-only access to patch information; inherited by roles such as remediationowner and vulnerabilityanalyst.

    Viewing Patch Data in Vulnerability Response Workspaces

    Patch data can be viewed across various ServiceNow interfaces:

    • IT Remediation Workspace:
      • Home view: Access scorecards to see Preferred Solutions on Vulnerable Items (VIs), Vulnerable Configuration Items (CIs), and Preferred Patches.
      • List view: View all Patch Update (VPU) records and assigned Vulnerable Items with patches.
      • Patch scheduling: Available from Patch Update, Remediation Task, and Discovered Item records.
    • Vulnerability Manager Workspace:
      • Home view: Monitor preferred and potential patches, scheduled patch dates, and patch download status on the Vulnerable Items tab.
      • List view: View patch data on Vulnerable Items within remediation efforts.
    • Classic environment: Navigate to All > Vulnerability Response > Patches to access Patch Update records.

    Patch Update Records and Data Details

    Patch Update records include comprehensive data useful for remediation and patch orchestration:

    • Vulnerability solution data imported from patch vendors via the Vulnerability Solution Management application.
    • Source Remediation Status showing the number of devices affected and missing updates.
    • Remediation Status with percentage of remediated Vulnerable Items and counts of preferred patches.
    • Related links to associated Devices, Vulnerable Items, Patch Deployments, and Patch Requests.
    • Patch Requests submitted by remediation owners for approval.
    • State rollups on vulnerable item records to aggregate active vulnerability counts efficiently.

    Patch Data Rollup and Scheduling

    A scheduled job updates rollup counts only for active Vulnerable Items to optimize performance, applying these updates to key records such as Vulnerable Item Tasks (VIT), Remediation Tasks (RT), Vulnerability Solutions, and Patch Updates.

    Dashboards and Analytics

    Patch orchestration data integrates with Performance Analytics dashboards included with the Vulnerability Response application subscription:

    • Vulnerability Management (PA) dashboard: Displays patch scheduling statuses, patches missing target dates, and weekly patch counts under the Remediation tab.
    • CISO dashboard: Shows patch coverage details, including criticality, scheduled vs. unscheduled patches, and patches past target dates in the Overview tab.
    • If patch orchestration is not installed, the remediation tab on the CISO dashboard appears without data.

    Practical Benefits for ServiceNow Customers

    • Enables comprehensive visibility into patch status and vulnerability remediation progress directly within ServiceNow.
    • Allows scheduling and management of patches from multiple record types for streamlined remediation workflows.
    • Supports data-driven decision-making with integrated dashboards showing patch coverage and remediation effectiveness.
    • Optimizes performance through state rollups and selective patch data aggregation.

    Patch data and patch rollup data, as well as vulnerability information and remediation status of your vulnerabilities are displayed on records in your instance.

    Viewing patch data in the Vulnerability Response Workspaces

    Roles required:
    • sn_vul_patch_orch.configure_patch role to configure and schedule patches
    • sn_vul_patch_orch.read_patch to view (read only) patch information on records. This role is inherited with the sn_vul.remediation_owner and sn_vuln.vulnerability_analyst roles that are required for the IT Remediation and Vulnerability Manager Workspaces

    In the IT Remediation Workspace, you can view the patches:

    • On the Home view, where you can click scorecards to view records for Preferred solutions on VIs, Vulnerable CIs, and Preferred Patches on VIs.
    • On the List view, where you can view all Patch Update records (VPUs) from the Patches links, and the vulnerable items (VITs) that are assigned to you that have patches.

    You can schedule patches from the following records:

    • From Patch Update (VPU)
    • Remediation task (RT)
    • Discovered Item (SDI) records

    In the Vulnerability Manager Workspace, you can view patches:

    • From the Home view on watch topics, where you can view preferred and potential patches, Patch scheduled dates, and, if the patch has been downloaded all on the Vulnerable Items tab.
    • From the List view on remediation efforts, where you can view patch data on VI records from theVulnerable Items tab.

    From the classic environment view, navigate to All > Vulnerability Response > Patches.

    Patch Update records in the VR Workspaces and in the classic environment view

    Patch data and patch rollup data and status are displayed on records in your instance. Patch records are included as part of the patch orchestration feature of this integration with Vulnerability Response. View Patch (VPU) records in Vulnerability Response Workspaces from the List view in the IT Remediation Workspace. Patch Update records in both the classic environment and Vulnerability Response Workspaces include the following data:

    • Vulnerability solution data and information from patch vendors imported by the Vulnerability Solution Management application.
    • Source Remediation Status that includes the total number of devices that have a given vulnerability that can be fixed by a patch. Additionally, it also includes and any devices that are missing updates.
    • Remediation Status that includes % of VIs remediated and the total VIs that have a patch as a preferred patch.
    • Associated Devices, Vulnerable Items, Patch Deployments and Patch Requests on the Related Links on records in the class view. This data is displayed on tabs on records in the Vulnerability Response Workspaces.
    • Patch Requests that remediation owners have submitted for approval.

    State rollup on vulnerable item records

    For more information about state rollup to records, see Patch data and state rollup for patch orchestration in Vulnerability Response.

    Records that roll up active VI counts

    To avoid rolling up all the patches to all the vulnerabilities, the scheduled job only picks up changes to the active VI count. These count changes and related data are rolled up to the following records in Vulnerability Response:
    • VIT
    • RT
    • Vulnerability solution
    • Patch Update

    Viewing data for patches without solutions

    For more information about viewing patches without solutions, see View patches without solutions in Vulnerability Response.

    Patch data on the Vulnerability Response

    The Vulnerability Management (PA) and CISO dashboards are included with a subscription with the Performance Analytics for the Vulnerability Response application. If you have a subscription for Performance Analytics, but do not have a patch orchestration integration installed, the remediation tab is displayed on the CISO dashboard, but it is not populated with data.

    For the Vulnerability Management (PA) dashboard, navigate to All > Vulnerability Response > Overview. Click the Remediation tab and scroll to the bottom of the page to view Patch Updates data: patches scheduled and not scheduled, patches missing their target dates, and weekly counts.

    For the CISO Dashboard, navigate to All > Vulnerability Response > CISO Dashboard. With the Overview tab selected, scroll to the bottom of the page to view Patch Coverage data: Criticality, patches scheduled and not scheduled, and patches missing their target dates.

    For more information about the Vulnerability Response dashboards, see Using the default Vulnerability Response dashboards, Patch orchestration with the Vulnerability Response Workspaces, and Viewing patch orchestration data on the Vulnerability Response dashboards.