Positive Technologies has updated the detection mechanism in its MaxPatrol VM vulnerability management system. The platform now identifies Windows vulnerabilities by analyzing OS kernel versions instead of relying on individual Knowledge Base (KB) update identifiers.
This shift to kernel version analysis leverages the atomic nature of Windows updates. The change reduced the calculation time for Windows vulnerabilities by an average of 6 seconds per asset and decreased the size of vulnerability information packages by 20 MB, while also reducing false positives.
For Linux distributions, MaxPatrol VM now tracks Unpatched vulnerabilities. Currently, the system monitors over 21,000 vulnerabilities with available patches and more than 9,000 without them for Debian. Support for Red Hat Enterprise Linux, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, and openSUSE is planned.
The system also identifies End of Support (EoS) software, which no longer receives security updates. MaxPatrol VM flags software as EoS even if extended support programs, such as Microsoft ESU, Ubuntu ESM, or TuxCare ELS, are available, as these are considered separate services.
