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Introduction
Unpatched software is one of the most common causes of security breaches. Many high-profile data breaches in recent years exploited known vulnerabilities for which patches were available but not applied. In AWS environments, maintaining an effective patching program is essential for security and compliance. This blog explains how to build and operate an effective AWS patching program.
Understanding Your Patch Responsibility
Under AWS’s shared responsibility model, AWS patches the hypervisor and underlying infrastructure. Customers are responsible for patching their operating systems, applications, and middleware running on EC2 instances.
Managed services like RDS, Lambda, and ECS Fargate shift more patching responsibility to AWS. For RDS, AWS handles minor version upgrades automatically during your configured maintenance window. For Lambda, AWS maintains the managed runtime environments. This is one of the key operational advantages of managed services.
Ozy Solutions’ AWS support and maintenance services include comprehensive patch management programs.
AWS Systems Manager Patch Manager
AWS Systems Manager Patch Manager is the primary tool for automating EC2 instance patching. Patch Manager enables you to define patch baselines (which patches to apply based on criticality and classification), patch groups (which instances to patch together), and maintenance windows (when patching can occur).
With Patch Manager, you can automate the entire patching workflow: scan instances for missing patches, apply approved patches during maintenance windows, and report on patch compliance across your fleet.
Patching Strategy for Different Environments
Adopt a ring-based patching strategy that validates patches in lower environments before applying them to production:
Ring 1 (Development): Apply patches immediately as they are released.Ring 2 (Staging/QA): Apply patches 48-72 hours after Ring 1, after verifying no application issues.Ring 3 (Pre-production): Apply patches 1 week after Ring 2.Ring 4 (Production): Apply patches 2 weeks after Ring 3, after confidence is established.
This approach catches compatibility issues before they reach production while still maintaining a timely patching cadence.
Container and Lambda Patching
Container images built on OS base images must be regularly rebuilt with updated base images to incorporate security patches. Implement automated pipelines that regularly pull the latest base images and rebuild your container images.
Amazon Inspector automatically scans EC2 instances and container images in Amazon ECR for vulnerabilities, providing continuous visibility into your patching needs.
For Lambda, keep your runtime up to date and regularly update your function’s dependencies. Use AWS Lambda’s managed runtime updates to stay current on supported runtime versions.
For more patching guidance, see our Ozy Solutions blog.
Compliance Reporting
Demonstrate patching compliance with detailed reports from AWS Systems Manager Compliance. These reports show patch compliance status across all managed instances, making it easy to identify non-compliant instances and demonstrate compliance to auditors.
For organizations subject to compliance frameworks like PCI DSS, SOC 2, or HIPAA, AWS Config rules can continuously monitor and report on patching compliance, providing evidence for audits.
Conclusion
An effective patching program is a fundamental component of AWS security and compliance. The combination of AWS Systems Manager Patch Manager, Amazon Inspector, and well-defined patching procedures provides a solid foundation for keeping your infrastructure secure. Ozy Solutions’ AWS support and maintenance services include comprehensive patch management that keeps your environment secure and compliant.
