Patch Management via ITMS 7.5

                                                                Patch Management

Terminologies :

Hot-fix :

FE  (Quick Fix Engineering) is a group within Microsoft that produces "hot-fixes" - code patches for products that are provided to individual customers when they experience critical problems for which no feasible workaround is available.

Hot fixes are not intended for general installation, since they do not undergo extensive beta testing

Not Release for public


Security patches :

Security patches eliminate security vulnerabilities. Attackers wanting break into systems can exploit these vulnerabilities. These are analogous to hot-fixes but are deemed mandatory if the circumstances match and need to be deployed quickly.

Release for public

Maintenance Release :

Incremental update between service packs or software versions to fix multiple outstanding issues

Service packs :

Product Specific Service packs correct known problems and provide tools, drivers, and updates that extend product functionality, including enhancements developed after the product released. They get you up to our current code base. Being on the current code base is important because that's where we fix the code.

Service packs keep the product current, and extend and update your computer's functionality. Service packs include updates, system administration tools, drivers, and additional components. All are conveniently bundled for easy downloading.

MS release client patch (patches to the client ) and admin patches (patches for the client build to be used in the server while deploying new client)


Bulletin

Microsoft security bulletins are released on the second Tuesday of each month, A widely released fix for a product-specific, security-related vulnerability. Security vulnerabilities are rated by their severity. The severity rating is indicated in the Microsoft security bulletin as critical, important, moderate, or low.

e.g 

Date	Bulletin Number	KB Number	Title	Bulletin Rating
3/10/2015	MS15-031	3046049	Vulnerability in Schannel Could Allow Security Feature Bypass	Important

Bulletin ID	Bulletin Title	Max Severity Rating	Vulnerability Impact	Restart Requirement	Affected Software

MS15-031

Vulnerability in S Channel Could Allow Security Feature Bypass (3046049)

Important

Security Feature Bypass

Requires restart

All supported releases of Microsoft Windows.

Severity Ratings :

Rating	Definition
Critical	A vulnerability whose exploitation could allow the propagation of an Internet worm without user action.
Important	A vulnerability whose exploitation could result in compromise of the confidentiality, integrity, or availability of users’ data, or of the integrity or availability of processing resources.
Moderate	Exploitability is mitigated to a significant degree by factors such as default configuration, auditing, or difficulty of exploitation.
Low	A vulnerability whose exploitation is extremely difficult, or whose impact is minimal.

Types of installable and benefits

System Assessment scan