Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) Security Patching for IBM MobileFirst Quality Assurance

Answer

IBM delivers patches (including security fixes) for Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) based on the Red Hat Enterprise Linux Life Cycle policy. As stated in the Red Hat policy, fixes are not provided for all vulnerabilities on all RHEL versions, which means that IBM cannot deliver security fixes for some RHEL issues.

When security and other related updates are available from Red Hat, IBM delivers those updates in software packages that can be downloaded and applied to the appliances by using IBM Installation Manager. IBM also publishes Security Bulletins with additional information for security-related updates. Customers should subscribe to “IBM Worklight Quality Assurance” in My Notifications to be notified of important IBM MobileFirst Quality Assurance or IBM Worklight Quality Assurance support alerts.

An overview of the RHEL process on IBM MobileFirst Quality Assurance appliances:

Each appliance is manufactured with a default version of RHEL, referred to as a factory RHEL release. IBM periodically provides incremental upgrades to the next RHEL point release level. Existing appliances can be upgraded to the new point release using upgrade kits available using the IBM Installation Manager software package.

When security fixes are provided by Red Hat, IBM will verify and deliver those updates. On a quarterly basis, IBM will deliver a cumulative RHEL update with all IBM validated Red Hat security updates. These updates will be delivered on IBM Fix Central and should be installed using IBM Installation Manager. For more information about using Installation Manager, see:

MQA 7.0: http://www.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/SSFRDS_7.0.0/com.ibm.mqa.install.doc/topics/t_update.html

MQA 6.3: http://www.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/SSFRDS_6.3.0/com.ibm.mqa.install.doc/topics/t_update.html

MQA 6.0: http://www.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/SSFRDS_6.0.0/com.ibm.mqa.install.doc/topics/t_update.html

IBM may deliver additional validated fixes for critical, high-impact security vulnerabilities at times determined by IBM. Critical security fix availability is communicated to IBM customers through Security Bulletins posted on IBM’s website and through the My Notifications alerts.

Customers should install only RPMs that are made available by IBM on an IBM MobileFirst Quality Assurance appliance. It is recommended that you create an image of the VM before applying any updates. Understand that if there are issues after applying Linux updates, it might be necessary to revert to the backup image to restore a stable Linux environment.

All technical support for IBM products, including product documentation, technical notes, downloads, and alerts, is available on the IBM Support Portal.