Endpoint Security 10.6.1 October Update - Why Mandatory?

[jrauman]

Why is the McAfee Endpoint Security 10.6.1 October Update have an urgency rating of Mandatory? Is that even higher than Critical?  Does that mean if i'm still running the May Update, that my McAfee solution isn't providing the protection i'm expecting?  What are the real risks by not updating immediately (drop everything, patch everything ASAP!)?  Looking at the release notes, it doesnt appear to be all that risky.  

[Former Member]

Hello,

Thanks for your post.

If you refer the KB82761

https://kc.mcafee.com/corporate/index?page=content&id=KB82761 

icrosoft Operating System	ENS 10.6.1 July Update Repost-10.6.1 October Update	ENS 10.6.1 May Update	ENS 10.6.1	ENS 10.6.0	ENS 10.5.5 July Update Repost-10.5.5 October Update	ENS 10.5.5 May Update	ENS 10.5.5	ENS 10.5.4	ENS 10.5.3	ENS 10.5.1-10.5.2	ENS 10.5.0
Windows 10 October 2019 Update - version 19091, 3	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No

October Update is supported with Windows 10 October 2019 update version 1909.

Having said that it is supported with other operating system as well but for Windows 10 version 1909 is supported with October Update only.

If you are planning to upgrade your machine to windows 10 version 1909 in that case please deploy ENS October update and then perform the windows upgrade.Otherwise you will get a pop-up to uninstall the ENS.

Does that mean if i'm still running the May Update, that my McAfee solution isn't providing the protection i'm expecting? You will get all type of support and protection.

There was some known issues which has been resolved in the October update as well that you can check in the release note.

https://kc.mcafee.com/resources/sites/MCAFEE/content/live/PRODUCT_DOCUMENTATION/27000/PD27825/en_US/... 

Was my reply helpful?
If you find this post useful, Please give it a Kudos! l Also, Please don't forget to select "Accept as a solution" if this reply resolves your query!

[AdithyanT]

Hi @jrauman 

Excellent question! The answer to this question also lies in the product release notes:

https://docs.mcafee.com/bundle/endpoint-security-v10-6-1-release-notes/resource/endpoint-security-v1...

Quoting the document here:

1. Failure to apply Mandatory updates might result in a security breach.
2. Mandatory patches and hotfixes resolve vulnerabilities that might affect product functionality and compromise security.
3. You must apply these updates to maintain a viable and supported product.

Does that mean May update is no good?

Absolutely not. This is our best practice recommendation backed by a series of issue fixes accompanying this version.

Does it reduce our security?

Not directly. The definition and signatures are going to remain the same for both the versions. However, product stability matters here and some crucial issues have been fixed from our end owing to which this update is given a rating of mandatory. Indirectly this reduces the risk as there has been several feature fixes and performance issues fixed.

Also, Our recommendation is also documented on the below KBA:

https://kc.mcafee.com/corporate/index?page=content&id=KB51560

"Why must I stay current?
Update releases solve business-impacting product issues reported from the field. They might also provide operating system support, and improve product security to combat malware and malicious users. Failure to update the product regularly increases risk to your environment."

I sincerely hope this answers your query.

[AdithyanT]

Hi @jrauman 

Apologies for missing out on your last question.

---

@jrauman wrote:

What are the real risks by not updating immediately (drop everything, patch everything ASAP!)?   

---

As you have already seen the release notes, This is very urgent if you have faced any of those issues in your environment. The entire list of known issues are here:

https://kc.mcafee.com/corporate/index?page=content&id=KB82450

If these are not your primary concerns, then you can go against our recommendations to stay at the version you prefer. Support will still be able to assist you if you do not come across these fixed issues while running May Update. Hope this clarifies your query better.

[davyang]

One of the other reasons is the injection vulnerability described here which is fixed in the October update:

https://kc.mcafee.com/corporate/index?page=content&id=SB10299