The Server Patch Management process is one of the core elements of an effective IT security policy. Small and Medium Businesses through to Enterprises run the risk of serious data security threats and non-compliance with data privacy regulations with end-of-life software patching.

Whenever software is released, best efforts are made to test for glitches and/or bugs. Attackers look for exploits and system vulnerabilities that aren’t identified before the initial release to gain access to sensitive data. Software developers create release updates—patches— to fix glitches and/or bugs that are identified.

According to Gartner’s August 2024 forecast, global spending on information security is projected to reach $212 billion in 2025, marking a 15.1% increase from the estimated $183.9 billion in 2024. This growth is driven by factors such as a heightened threat environment, increased cloud adoption, and a shortage of cybersecurity talent. Additionally, the rise of generative AI is influencing investments in security software, with Gartner predicting that by 2027, 17% of cyberattacks will involve generative AI.

To address the risks and costs of a security vulnerability, enterprises’ spending on information security and risk management will grow 12.4% to a total value of $150.4 billion across the globe in 2021, according to Gartner.

In this article, you’ll learn about server patch management and its security benefits.

What Is Server Patch Management?

Server patch management is the process of regularly maintaining updates to operating systems (OS), third-party libraries, software, and applications. It involves identifying and fixing flaws in the software, releasing fixed packages, and verifying their installation. Server patch management is crucial to maintaining the security and stability of the IT infrastructure.

With patch management software, you can automate every step of patch management and compliance, from detecting missing patches to updating endpoints. The software simplifies the entire patch management process through a central server for patch management. By centralising patch management, you can deploy software patches from third parties along with server and infrastructure updates.

Automated Server Patch Management: Why Is It Important?

The importance of patch management may seem like an afterthought if you’ve never witnessed any security vulnerability. Yet, it can be very devastating when you finally encounter a vulnerability. By using automated patch management, companies can deploy patches regardless of their location or what operating system they are running. The following are a few reasons why you should consider automating patch management:

• Extra secure: A substantial number of security breaches occur as a result of insufficient patches. Automated patch management can protect you from security vulnerabilities across various platforms and operating systems, such as Windows, Linux, and Mac OS, by preventing cybercriminals from exploiting any flaws in your systems before they can see them. You can reduce the risk of reputation damage, security breaches, and compliance issues in the future.
• Better productivity: It’s still fairly common for applications to experience downtime or malware attacks. When this happens, productivity can drop. Automated patch management, on the other hand, reduces the risk of crashes and downtime, allowing employees to go about their work without interruption.
• Improved compliance management: If you don’t follow security regulations, you could face legal penalties, so you need a good server patch management policy to ensure compliance. With an automated patch management solution like AttuneOps, you can keep your infrastructure and servers compliant with all regulations.
• Better auditing and infrastructure overview: Often, applications or third-party libraries may get deprecated and no longer offer new updates, leading to bugs and vulnerabilities as your applications grow more complex. With automated patch management software, you can easily track and audit all dependencies, keeping track of application changes.

Server Patch Management Best Practices

Identify Vulnerable, Non-compliant, or Unpatched Systems

Today, most enterprises run dozens or even hundreds of different software applications, making them extremely difficult to manage. You can’t patch without knowing what you are patching.

That’s why you need to keep track of all system applications and configurations, ensuring you install the latest versions as soon as they’re available or identify vulnerable or obsolete applications.

A thorough Inventory Ensures accurate tracking of which systems require patching. The inventory should include details such as:

• Asset Types
• Software Versions
• Configurations

Assess and Prioritise Patches Based On Their Potential Impact

A company’s systems contain a variety of applications, varying in their relevance or order of priority to the organisation. You don’t want to be patching software that has little bearing on your application at a time when a core component needs an update. In addition to that, some applications require a complete reboot after patching.

Identify the criticality of each system and the potential impact of vulnerabilities. High-risk systems should be prioritised during the patching exercise. These include systems that are exposed to external networks or those that are handling sensitive data. Such an approach ensures that the most critical vulnerabilities are addressed promptly.

By analysing your patch rating and configuration, you can determine which systems require patches and set a rollout schedule for when to apply them.

Keep Patches Up-to-Date

In most cases, patches are readily available once a month or more. You’ll need to establish a routine and set a schedule for patching your systems regularly.

To do that, you can leverage automated server patch management software to help you apply scheduled patch updates and system checks through your entire IT infrastructure.

Test Patches Before Production

Before applying patches to the production environment, it’s critical to test them first. Since every network and configuration is unique, you must test every possible combination, ensuring the patch works properly on your network(s).

Before patching, also ensure that reliable backups of critical systems and data are in place. This allows for quick recovery in the case of unforeseen issues during the patching process. A solid rollback plan is also crucial to ensure you can recover from a patch that has misconfigured or rendered the systems unusable.

Automate Patch Management

Utilise automation to effectively manage the patching process, ensuring patches are applied to all systems and reducing manual errors.

Automation can handle tasks such as patch identification, testing, deployment, and reporting.

Tools such as AttuneOps can help you to schedule and automate the testing and deployment of patches in your environment

Consult Patch Documentation

Consulting the patch documentation is a critical step in the patch management process to ensure smooth deployment and avoid unintended consequences. Here’s why and how you should do it:

• Understand Changes – Patch notes detail what vulnerabilities are addressed, new features, and potential impacts.
• Identify Dependencies – Some patches require prerequisite updates or specific configurations.
• Check Known Issues – Vendors often list known bugs or incompatibilities.
• Assess Security Implications – Some patches fix critical vulnerabilities that should be prioritised.

You can consult the patch documentation effectively by one of the methods below:

• Follow Vendor Sources – Check official documentation from OS and software vendors (e.g., Microsoft, Red Hat, Ubuntu).
• Review CVE Details – For security patches, cross-check with CVE databases like NVD.
• Check Community Forums – Look for early adopters’ feedback on issues with the patch.
• Test in a Lab – Verify the patch doesn’t break dependencies before rolling it out in production.

You should only proceed with the patching exercise if you have thoroughly reviewed the vendor’s Patch Documentation.

Choosing the Best Server Patch Management Software

How can you determine which patch management software is suitable for your business? It all depends on which features best suit your needs. Patch management software requirements differ from one business to another, but there are a few necessary functionalities that the best patch management software should share. They include:

• Orchestrating automated patching for all applications and services across several platforms and OS
• Providing software patching support for multiple types of endpoints, such as desktops, laptops, servers, etc.
• Enabling complete auditing and reporting on patch status.
• Presence of a simple, easy-to-use web interface that’s interactive, affordable, and easy to use, along with intuitive documentation to guide users along the way.
• Ensuring compliance and security updates

AttuneOps is a comprehensive server automation solution that helps to provision, patch, configure, build, deploy, and manage applications across virtual or physical servers, orchestrating the patch rollout to reduce or eliminate downtime. As part of its extensive features, AttuneOps provides server patch management, security, and compliance with the flexibility to stop, start, restart, and migrate services. It provides several core features for managing your configurations and infrastructure across servers.

To learn more about server patch management, have a look at how to apply Linux patches to Docker Node.

Server Patch Management: Frequently Asked Questions