Issue after feeds update

On April 12 I performed the installation of the GCE downloading the ISO available here:
https://dl.greenbone.net/download/VM/gsm-ce-4.2.24.iso

I completed the configuration of GCE on a VMWare Workstation, then:

Few days after the first setup/usage (April 17), I performed a second VA session.
After starting GCE, from the textual menu I launched the feeds update.
The process completed regularly and the updated feeds information (April 17) was displayed.

The abnormal behavior starts in the feeds details screen of the WebConsole, where I still found only the feeds uploaded during the first feed update (it was April 12), while there should be also the updated feeds released on April 17:
image

I was sure that the list was missing feeds because checking online on “secinfo.greenbone.net” I’ve been able to find the new available feeds.

As I’m evaluating the product for a purchase, I sincerely need your help to know which are the needed steps to solve this issue.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Giannandrea Schiavo

Did you turned the virtual appliance off after the first update ?

To get regular updates you need to have it running 24/7.
The GSF does synchronize itself every night. If unsure you can trigger a Feed-Sync manual via GOS Menu before you start the new scan.

Hi Lukas,
the GCE (with Enterprise feeds/demo 14 days) is installed on my PC (with VMWare Workstation) so during the night it’s turned off.
What I did are exactly the steps you mentioned:

  • after the installation and first manual feeds update everything worked fine (I performed few VA on customer site)
  • then I turned off the PC
  • for the second feeds update, I started VMWare and the GCE VM, then from the “GOS” I launched the feeds update, the update has worked fine
    image

Now I have the following situation:

  • from the the “web console” via “Extras/Feed status” I have a result similar to “GOS”, it means feeds updated to 17 April
  • instead from the the “web console” via “SecInfo/NVTs” status I have available only of the feeds until 12 April (which was the first feeds upload date)

Needless to say given the used configuration (PC with VMWare Workstation) I restarted multiple times the virtual machine…

Thanks in advance for your help.

Giannandrea Schiavo

Did you started a manual feed sync ? If not this would explain your issue … alternative you can run the virtual appliance over 24h … A restart did not help you at all, if the VM is down during the regular update time.

Did you forced a manual feed sync, this might take some minutes.

Hi Lukas,
yes, the manual feeds update has been exactly the operation I performed on 17 April (it was the 2nd feeds update I performed after the first one executed during the installation).
It’s been the 2nd manual feeds update which led me to the issue I shown in my images.
In my opinion it looks like there have been some kind of “corruption/indexes not updated” in the feeds db, that should explain why if I access the “web console” via “Extras/Feed status” I have a result similar to “GOS”, (it means feeds updated to 17 April) and why accessing the “web console” via “SecInfo/NVTs” I have available only the feeds until 12 April (which was the date of the first feeds upload date).
Besides the temporary license key is expired, so performing a 3rd feeds manual update will also delete all the enterprise feeds I previously downloaded.
Anyway I will follow your indications to troubleshoot the issue.

Thanks for your kind support.

Giannandrea

Hi,
What about re-installing the VM and loading the subscription key. Did you shutdown the VM via GOS Menu (Maintenance -> Power -> Shutdown ?). If not this might be an issue.

Hi Lukas,
yes, I always stopped gracefully the VM (it means following the procedure you mentioned).
I supposed that performing some maintenance via shell commands would be helpful to recover from this situation… anyway, given the expiration of the trial license key I received from Greenbone, I decided to goin’ on with the purchase of a Maven instance (yesterday I sent an email to Lena).
Maven should be the right choice for my targets, it means:

  • performing specific servers VAs, having an adequate evaluation of the installed enterprise software (let’s say that I definitely need the Greenbone official feeds)
    Besides with Maven I will get official email support from Greenbone, so I’m pretty sure that also our interaction will be smoother.
    Thanks for your time
    Giannandrea