Keeping Ubuntu Linux Secure with Latest SUSE Manager 4.2

March 7, 2022 | By: Don Vosburg

Ubuntu systems are everywhere. They make up a very large percentage of deployed Linux servers both on premises and on hyperscalers like AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud. Ubuntu LTS – or Long Term Support – is a commonly used platform for many developers and enterprises.

For some time now, Ubuntu LTS has been a supported client system for SUSE Manager. We build and support binary clients for Ubuntu 1804, 2004, and soon 2204 releases. Our ongoing strategy is to allow customers to manage the Linux distributions they need with SUSE Manager.

Find the full matrix of supported client systems documented here:

https://documentation.suse.com/suma/4.2/en/suse-manager/client-configuration/supported-features.html#_supported_client_systems

Previously SUSE Manager 4.2 did not have a way to add the security errata information to the Ubuntu channels it mirrored. You could install and update packages, but there was no visibility into further security metadata for Ubuntu distributions. Ubuntu channels store this information differently than other versions of Linux SUSE Manager supports.

But now with SUSE Manager 4.2.5 – released 28 February 2022 – you can see and use this patch metadata! In fact, it is simply integrated into the channel synchronization process for Ubuntu channels.

If you have not yet added Ubuntu channels, you can do it through the web interface on the Products page. Alternatively you can interactively add a product at the CLI with this command:

mgr-sync add product

SUSE Manager automatically updates existing products daily. Now it will add the ‘patches’ to Ubuntu channels in SUSE Manager. It does this by downloading errata information from https://usn.ubuntu.com/usn-db/database.json and matching it after the syncing of Ubuntu channels. Any Content Lifecycle Management projects using Ubuntu channels as sources will need a fresh build to show it.

Using Ubuntu Errata in SUSE Manager

Look in Patches -> Relevant to see all the patches for your systems. Patch your Ubuntu systems as needed!.

And you can use one of the most popular features in SUSE Manager – CVE Audit – to search and remedy Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures for supported Ubuntu systems!