Patch Management 101: Tools, Processes, and More

If you have digital systems, you need to manage patches for them. It’s that simple.

Yet patch management is anything but simple. It’s a complex and challenging, and it never stops.

Whether you work with a managed IT service provider or not, here’s everything you need to know.

Key takeaways:

• Patch management is not optional. Without it, your systems may fall prey to cyberattacks.
• It’s important to get a full audit of all systems under management.
• It’s crucial to establish a clear process for evaluating, testing, and deploying patches.
• If you’re struggling with patch management, Corsica Technologies can help.

What is patch management?

Patch management is the process of evaluating and applying software updates to systems. Vendors release patches to fix bugs, resolve security vulnerabilities, and implement new features. Patch management is an essential component in IT and cybersecurity management, ensuring that all systems are secure, running the latest version, and offering the best performance.

The more interconnected systems you have, the more complicated patch management becomes. For most organizations, this process encompasses dozens of software providers, hundreds of applications, and a nearly infinite number of potential combinations on any given endpoint.

Whether you manage patches in-house or engage a trusted partner like Corsica, it’s important to follow a structured process to ensure success. That said, every environment is different, and some customization may be required to ensure stability and efficacy.

What risks arise from delaying critical security patches?

Unpatched systems are at risk of exploitation by cyber criminals. Since patches are often announced publicly to a vendor’s customer base, criminals can use this information to identify vulnerabilities in unpatched systems. AI tools make it especially easy for threat actors to find systems that haven’t received a given patch.

Here are the most common risks associated with unpatched systems.

• Ransomware. If hackers can gain unauthorized access to a system, they may be able to install ransomware and activate it before your team becomes aware of the issue.
• Malware. Likewise, hackers can install malware if they can get access to a system through an unpatched vulnerability.
• Data breaches. If hackers can get in, they can exfiltrate (steal) data from a system, potentially selling it on the black market or using it in further attacks.
• Supply chain attacks. If an unpatched system is integrated to a downstream system, hackers may be able to gain access to the downstream system after gaining access to the upstream system.

How do I implement an effective patch management policy?

The effectiveness of a patch management policy depends on two factors:

1. How thorough the policy is
2. How rigorously it’s implemented

1. How to create a thorough patch management policy

Thoroughness depends on whether you have a complete picture of all systems, both hardware and software, that require patches. You’ll need to develop an inventory of all assets requiring patches—and you’ll need to keep this inventory up to date.

Thoroughness also requires a clear process for identifying, testing, and deploying patches. See below for details.

2. How to implement your policy rigorously

Use a combination of alerts and time blocking to ensure you follow your policy rigorously. Set up alerts to notify you of new patches for every system under management. Then set aside specific, regular blocks of time in which you’ll review, test, and implement new patches.

This is not a small commitment. Patch management takes time and effort, and it’s one of the biggest reasons why IT leaders turn to an MSP like Corsica Technologies for help. Whether you have internal IT resources or not, Corsica can help ensure that your systems get the right patches at the right time.

What’s the best patch management process?

Here’s the process that we use with our clients. It’s the one we recommend if you’re managing patches internally.

Overall patching requirements

There are four requirements that must be met to achieve the best possible patching:

1. Devices must be online long enough to detect a new patch.
2. Devices must be online long enough to download a patch.
3. Devices must be online long enough to install patches.
4. Devices must be rebooted to apply patches.

Patching process for workstations

• We automatically approve applications, critical updates, definition updates, drivers, feature packs, security updates, service packs, third party, tools, update rollups, and normal updates.
• We do not approve upgrades automatically (e.g., Windows 10 upgrade to Windows 11).
• We will try to detect, approve, download, and install updates multiple times throughout the week. Workstations tend to be offline frequently, so we try multiple times to ensure we catch every machine.
• When a workstation receives a patch, it usually requires a reboot. Reboots are scheduled for 3:00 AM on a day of the week that the client chooses.
• If the device was not online or was in use during the scheduled reboot, the user will be presented with a prompt asking them to save their work and reboot at their earliest convenience.

Patching process for servers

• We automatically approve applications, critical updates, definition updates, feature packs, security updates, third party, update rollups, and normal updates.
• We do not approve drivers, service packs, tools, and upgrades. Typically, these kinds of patches can cause issues with server applications and should be applied interactively.
• We will try to detect, approve, download, and install updates only at the specified date and time. Servers should always be online, so we do not need to attempt updates multiple times throughout the week.
• When a server receives a patch, it usually requires a reboot. Reboots are scheduled on a day and time that the client chooses. Reboots are forced and users will not be prompted.

Which components should I prioritize first in a patch management program?

Critical updates and security updates should always receive top priority. After that, you can prioritize according to your organization’s policies and operational needs. If you partner with Corsica Technologies, we’ll collaborate with you to determine the right patching prioritization for your organization.

Here at Corsica Technologies, we prioritize patches as high, medium, or low priority based on the following criteria.

High priority

• Critical Updates
• Security Updates
• Third Party

Medium priority

• Update Rollups
• Updates

Low priority

• Upgrades

Not monitored

• Definitions
• Drivers
• Feature packs
• Services packs*
• Tools
• Unknown

*Services packs often require significant time to complete and can impact service. To protect the client from unplanned downtime, service packs are deferred for installation during regularly scheduled preventative maintenance windows.

How do I test patches before wide deployment?

To test patches, you’ll need a test environment that’s an exact copy of the production environment. You’ll also want to test one patch at a time on a given environment to rule out patch interaction as the cause of any issues.

Here’s the process you can use for testing.

1. Copy the production environment to the test environment.
2. Deploy the patch to the test environment.
3. Run real-world workloads and activities on the environment.
4. Monitor system response and performance. Note any anomalies.
5. Based on rest results, decide whether to deploy the patch.

At scale, this process can become quite time-consuming. This is one of the main reasons that companies turn to Corsica Technologies for patch management.

How can I measure patch management effectiveness and compliance?

You can measure patch management effectiveness through KPIs like patch compliance rate, mean time to patch, and vulnerability remediation rate. Depending on the systems in question, you may want to use more than one of these measures.

Here’s what each one means in detail.

Patch compliance rate

This is a measure of the percentage of systems that have received the latest patches that were approved for deployment. It’s expressed as the number of patched systems divided by the total number of systems under management.

Mean time to patch (MTTP)

This is a measure of the mean time required to implement a patch after it’s been released, or after a vulnerability has been disclosed. To follow best practices, you should establish SLAs (service level agreements) for patch deployment based on severity.

Vulnerability remediation rate

This is a measure of the percentage of vulnerabilities that are remediated within the SLA established for the relevant severity level.

The takeaway: Stay on top of patch management—or engage a partner to help

Patch management is a critical responsibility for IT teams. However, in today’s fast-paced environment, it can be challenging to stay on top of patches. If you need assistance, Corsica Technologies can help. We’ve worked with 1,000+ clients to solve their technology challenges. Reach out to us today to get started.

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