Patch orchestration with Vulnerability Response

  • Release version: Yokohama
  • Updated January 30, 2025
  • 6 minutes to read
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    Summary of Patch orchestration with Vulnerability Response

    Patch orchestration with Vulnerability Response enables ServiceNow customers to manage the patching and deployment of critical vulnerability fixes across large groups of assets efficiently. Leveraging data from third-party integrations such as patch vendors and vulnerability scanners, the Vulnerability Response application correlates this information to facilitate the complete vulnerability remediation cycle—from identifying vulnerabilities to patch deployment and closure—all within the ServiceNow AI Platform instance.

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    This capability is available in both the classic environment and Vulnerability Response workspaces and supports patch deployments for a variety of platforms including Windows, CentOS, macOS, and Oracle. It allows scheduling patches during off-hours and supports monitoring patch deployment progress with optional approval workflows.

    Key Features

    • Integrated Vulnerability Data: Uses imported data from third-party scanners and patch vendors to identify vulnerabilities linked to configuration items (CIs) in your CMDB.
    • Patch Deployment Scheduling: Schedule and initiate patches from Patch Update, remediation task, and discovered item records, with flexibility to avoid business hours.
    • Patch Monitoring and Approval: Monitor remediation progress and optionally require approval for patch deployment requests to control patch scheduling and reduce conflicts.
    • Role-Based Access: Users require specific roles tailored to the patch orchestration integration in use (e.g., HCL BigFix, Microsoft SCCM) to view data and schedule patches securely.
    • Bulk Editing: Bulk edit vulnerable items with preferred patches in the classic environment when all selected items have mapped preferred patches.
    • Patch Management Data Model Plugin: A free, standalone plugin encapsulates key patch management tables (e.g., Collection, Patch Update, Patch Deployment), enabling integration with ITSM and other workflows. Existing patch orchestration data migrates automatically to this enhanced model.

    Practical Application for ServiceNow Customers

    By implementing patch orchestration with Vulnerability Response, you can streamline vulnerability remediation workflows by automating patch scheduling and deployment across diverse operating systems and asset types. The integration with third-party patch vendors and scanners ensures remediation actions are based on accurate, up-to-date vulnerability data linked directly to your CMDB assets.

    The optional approval workflow empowers your teams to manage patch deployments thoughtfully, avoiding disruption during critical business hours. Role-based security controls and integration-specific configuration ensure that only authorized users can schedule or approve patches.

    Additionally, the Patch Management Data Model plugin facilitates deeper integration and data consistency across ServiceNow applications, supporting enhanced reporting and workflow automation.

    Next Steps

    • Configure integrations with supported third-party patch vendors such as HCL BigFix or Microsoft SCCM to enable patch orchestration.
    • Assign appropriate roles to users based on their patch orchestration responsibilities.
    • Determine whether to enable or disable patch deployment approval based on your organizational policies.
    • Use Vulnerability Response records to schedule and monitor patch deployments, leveraging bulk edit capabilities where applicable.
    • Consider installing the Patch Management Data Model plugin to enhance data management and interoperability with other ServiceNow modules.

    You can manage patches and patch deployments for critical vulnerabilities for large groups of your assets with Patch orchestration with Vulnerability Response. Vulnerability Response Patch Orchestration and the patch orchestration integrations are available on the ServiceNow® Store.

    Understanding patch orchestration with Vulnerability Response

    Patch orchestration with Vulnerability Response uses data from scheduled imports from third-party solution integrations, patch vendors, and vulnerability scanners. This data is correlated in the Vulnerability Response application. This organization of data permits you to complete the steps of the vulnerability remediation cycle. Start with identifying vulnerabilities, then apply patches and updates, and finally close vulnerable items using third-party scanner data all from within your ServiceNow AI Platform® instance.

    Patch orchestration overview image that shows the following stages: install, configure, import data, view, and use.

    Patch orchestration with Vulnerability Response is supported in both the classic environment and the Vulnerability Response workspaces.

    For information about patch orchestration in the workspaces, see Patch orchestration with the Vulnerability Response Workspaces.

    With patch orchestration in Vulnerability Response, vulnerability managers and analysts and IT remediation specialists can perform the following remediation tasks:
    • See more context and information about the types of patches and vendors that make up their solutions (patches).
    • View and monitor vulnerability and solution data, as well as vulnerability remediation progress from records in the Vulnerability Response Workspaces or in the classic environment.
    • Deploy patches supported by third-party solution vendors for their Windows, CentOS, macOS, Oracle, and other assets at regular, scheduled intervals. You can schedule patches during off-hours to avoid conflicts with those at work.
    • Using imported detection data provided by third-party scanners, identify assets that have vulnerabilities and are not patched or are not successfully updated by scheduled patches.
    • Initiate and schedule available patches for assets that require updates from Patch Update, remediation task, and discovered item records in the Vulnerability Response application.
    • Monitor patch deployments with an optional approval process for patch requests submitted by your remediation specialists.

    Key terms

    Configuration item (CI)
    CIs are the existing assets that are listed in your Configuration Management Database (CMDB).
    Vulnerable item (VI)
    An imported vulnerability that matches an existing asset in your CMDB. Vulnerable items (VITs) are grouped into remediation tasks, or lists, according to certain criteria that specify remediation actions for VIs.
    Instance
    Refers to a distinct account of a solution vendor application. For example, each user account can be an instance in the HCL BigFix application. This term also refers to a unique, secure web address for a ServiceNow AI Platform® instance.
    Solution
    There are two types of solutions in the context of this integration, potential and preferred. A potential solution is one that might address a vulnerability. Vulnerabilities often have many potential solutions.  A preferred solution matches the most effective solution for a specific, detected vulnerability.
    Patch
    Software updates that fix vulnerabilities. Patch vendors use their own names for patches, for example, In the HCL BigFix application, patches are called, Fixlets.
    Preferred patch
    Preferred patches are software updates that are intended to fix specific vulnerabilities. Patches, once deployed, map to the vulnerable items that are related to specific vulnerabilities and fix them.
    Deployment
    Deployment for the purposes of this integration refers to when you apply, initiate, or schedule a patch to a machine.

    Deployment in the ServiceNow AI Platform can also refer to an integration that supports multi-source. A single integration existence is referred to as a deployment of your integration. A deployment refers to the integrations and products across your environment. For example, you might have multiple deployments of a third-party scanner or a solution vendor integration in your environment.

    Available versions of applications and dependencies required for the patch orchestration integration

    Roles required

    Users need roles that are specific to the patch orchestration integration you are using to view data and schedule patches from the Vulnerability Response application. See the configuration information for the supported integrations you are using listed below for more information.

    There is a submission and approval process for patch requests included with the applications. By default, a system property is activated [sn_vul_patch_orch.patch_approval_required] in the Vulnerability Response Patch Orchestration application in your ServiceNow AI Platform instance.

    This system property is activated so that when patch deployments are scheduled, they are submitted for review and approval to users assigned to the Level 1 - Patch update approval group. If you want users with the sn_vul_patch_orch.configure_patch role to schedule patches without approval, you can deactivate the [sn_vul_patch_orch.patch_approval_required] property. You might prefer to leave approvals activated so that scheduled patches do not conflict with normal working hours. If you deactivate the approval system property, any user with the sn_vul_patch_orch.configure_patch role can schedule and deploy patches without review and approval.

    For more information, and how to deactivate this system property, see the configuration topic for your supported integration.

    Schedule patches from Vulnerability Response records

    Remediation specialists can schedule patch updates to resolve vulnerable items and monitor remediation progress all from records in the Vulnerability Response application.

    You can schedule patches from the following records:

    • Patch Update
    • Remediation task
    • Discovered item

    Records that roll up active VI counts in Vulnerability Response

    To avoid potential performance issues with rolling up all the patches to all the vulnerabilities, the scheduled job that picks up changes only modifies the active VI count. These count changes and related data are rolled up to the following records in the Vulnerability Response application:

    • VIT (vulnerable item)
    • RT (remediation task)
    • Vulnerability solution
    • Patch Update

    For more information about viewing patch data and patch data roll up to records, and viewing patches without solutions, see the following topics.

    Bulk edit vulnerable items with patches

    You can bulk edit vulnerable items in the classic environment that have patches from the classic environment. For more information about how bulk editing works, see Edit vulnerable items in bulk in Vulnerability Response. The preferred patches for all the VIs selected for bulk edit. This option for edit only works if there are preferred patches mapped to all the VIs selected.

    Patch Management Data Model Enhancements

    The Patch Management Data Model plugin — a standalone, free plugin that encapsulates the data model currently used in the VR Patch Orchestration application. This includes key tables such as Collection, Patch Update, Patch Deployment, and others.

    This plugin can be used by patch management tools to ingest the Patch Management data to be used by applications such as ITSM, Vulnerability Response and so on for the existing workflows.

    Key Enhancements:
    • Tables such as, collection device, patch update, patch deployment tables in the existing patch orchestration plugin will be moved to the new data model plugin.
    • The data from the old table will be migrated to the new tables for the existing VR patch orchestration feature.