Release of the QRadar 7.3.0 Patch 6 SFS (7.3.0.20171107151332) (UPDATED)

Content

Administrator notes
This update includes a change to how login authentication works for fallback LDAP, Radius, or Active Directory on administrator accounts. If the external authentication server is unavailable, not all administrators will be able to fall back to their local administrator passwords without a configuration change. This change was implemented in QRadar 7.3.0 Patch 4 or later and this note is being included in 7.3.0 Patch 6 to raise awareness for this change. For more information, see: QRadar: External Authentication Fails Due to Password Fallback Change for Administrators.


Upgrade information
QRadar 7.3.0 Patch 6 resolves 57 field issues reported from users and administrators. Fix packs are cumulative software updates to fix known software issues in your QRadar deployment. QRadar fix packs are installed by using an SFS file. The fix pack can update all appliances attached to the QRadar Console. If your deployment is installed with any of the following QRadar versions, you can install fix pack 7.3.0-QRADAR-QRSIEM-20171107151332 to upgrade to QRadar 7.3.0 Patch 6:

The 7.3.0-QRADAR-QRSIEM-20171107151332 SFS file can upgrade QRadar 7.3.0 to QRadar 7.3.0 Patch 6. However, this document does not cover all of the installation messages and requirements, such as changes to appliance memory requirements or browser requirements for QRadar. To review any additional requirements, see the QRadar Upgrade Guide.

Before you begin
Ensure that you take the following precautions:

• Back up your data before you begin any software upgrade. For more information about backup and recovery, see the IBM Security QRadar Administration Guide.
• To avoid access errors in your log file, close all open QRadar sessions.
• The fix pack for QRadar cannot be installed on a managed host that is at a different software version from the Console. All appliances in the deployment must be at the same software revision to update the entire deployment.
• Verify that all changes are deployed on your appliances. The update cannot install on appliances that have changes that are not deployed.
• If this is a new installation, administrators must review the instructions in the QRadar Installation Guide.
  

  
  

Installing the QRadar 7.3.0 Patch 6 Fix Pack
The instructions guide administrators through the process of upgrading an existing QRadar version at 7.3.0 to QRadar 7.3.0 Patch 6. If the administrator is interested in updating appliances in parallel, see: QRadar: How to Update Appliances in Parallel.

Procedure

1. Download the fix pack to install QRadar 7.3.0 Patch 6 from the IBM Fix Central website: http://www.ibm.com/support/fixcentral/swg/quickorder?parent=IBM%20Security&product=ibm/Other+software/IBM+Security+QRadar+SIEM&release=7.3.0&platform=Linux&function=fixId&fixids=7.3.0-QRADAR-QRSIEM-20171107151332&includeSupersedes=0&source=fc
2. Using SSH, log in to your Console as the root user.
3. To verify you have enough space (3GB) in /store/tmp for the QRadar Console, type:
   df -h /tmp /storetmp /store/transient | tee diskchecks.txt
• Best directory option: /storetmp
  It is available on all appliance types, is not cleaned up if you need to postpone your update, and is available on all appliance types at all versions. In QRadar 7.3.0 versions /store/tmp is a symlink to the /storetmp partition.
• 2nd best directory option: /tmp
  This directory is available on all appliances, but in 7.3.0 versions is significantly smaller and moving a file here can cause services to stop. If you leave a file in /tmp for 10 days without completing the SFS update, it might get cleaned up by Red Hat's tmpwatch cron job.
• 3rd best option: /store/transient
  The store/transient directory was introduced in QRadar 7.2.1 and is allocated 10% of the overall /store directory. However, this directory does not exist on all appliances, such as QFlow or QRadar Network Insights and might not be an actual partition on all appliances.
  

  
  If the disk check command fails, retype the quotation marks from your terminal, then re-run the command. This command returns the details to both the command window and to a file on the Console named diskchecks.txt. Review this file to ensure that all appliances have at minimum 3GB of space available in a directory to copy the SFS before attempting to move the file to a managed host. If required, free up disk space on any host that fails to have less that 3GB available.
  

  
  Note: In QRadar 7.3.0 and later, an update to directory structure for STIG compliant directories reduces the size of several partitions. This can impact moving large files to QRadar.
  

4. To create the /media/updates directory, type the following command: mkdir -p /media/updates
5. Using SCP, copy the files to the QRadar Console to the /storetmp directory or a location with 3GB of disk space.
6. Change to the directory where you copied the patch file. For example, cd /store/tmp
7. To mount the patch file to the /media/updates directory, type the following command:
   mount -o loop -t squashfs /storetmp/730_QRadar_patchupdate-7.3.0.20171107151332.sfs /media/updates
8. To run the patch installer, type the following command: /media/updates/installer
   Note: The first time that you run the fix pack, there might be a delay before the fix pack installation menu is displayed.
9. Using the patch installer, select all.
• The all option updates the software on all appliances in the following order:
  

  
  1. Console
  2. No order required for remaining appliances. All remaining appliances can be updated in any order the administrator requires.
  

• If you do not select the all option, you must select your Console appliance.
  
  As of QRadar 7.2.6 Patch 4 and later, administrators are only provided the option to update all or update the Console appliance. Managed hosts are not displayed in the installation menu to ensure that the Console is patched first. After the Console is patched, a list of managed hosts that can be updated is displayed in the installation menu. This change was made starting with QRadar 7.2.6 Patch 4 to ensure that the Console appliance is always updated before managed hosts to prevent upgrade issues.
  
  If administrators want to patch systems in series, they can update the Console first, then copy the patch to all other appliances and run the patch installer individually on each managed host. The Console must be patched before you can run the installer on managed hosts. When updating in parallel, there is no order required in how you update appliances after the Console is updated.
  
  If your Secure Shell (SSH) session is disconnected while the upgrade is in progress, the upgrade continues. When you reopen your SSH session and rerun the installer, the patch installation resumes.
  
  
  
  

1. After the patch completes and you have exited the installer, type the following command: umount /media/updates
2. Administrators and users should clear their browser cache before logging in to the Console.
   
   Results
   A summary of the fix pack installation advises you of any managed host that were not updated. If the fix pack fails to update a managed host, you can copy the fix pack to the host and run the installation locally.
   
   After all hosts are updated, administrators can send an email to their team to inform them that they will need to clear their browser cache before logging in to the QRadar SIEM interface.