A Distribution Strategy For Software Patches

With the current patch distribution scheme C/S, the user have to login on the update server to download the patch , which take the server serious load. And then, scheme C/S stagger patch distribution over long time periods, may allow attackers who receive the patch first to compromise the significant fraction of vulnerable hosts who have not yet received the patch. For this reason ,we need to rethink the alternative update-delivery strategies, to speed up the patch distribution ,and ensure the security of the system.From the point of the patch distribution , the paper discusses the vulnerability and the current status of patch distribution ,and proposed an effective distribution scheme ,the End-host based multicast (EHBM). Once the client downloaded the patches, will distribute the patches according to the address list ,which received from the management server. This is a strategy that the client help to release patches by playing the role of server. The scheme can reduce the workload of server , and improve the efficiency of patch distribution.Then,the function of EHBM patch distribution was introduced . The paper also describes the design and implementation of this system in detail. Finally, this paper analysed the security problem which may occur in the new patch distribution scheme ,and proposed two solution: Redundancy and the credibility of the node.