Sentinel 8.1 Patch Update 1 Release Notes

July 2017

This patch update resolves issues in Sentinel 8.1. For more information about the new features, improved usability, and resolved issues in Sentinel 8.1, see the Sentinel 8.1 Release Notes.

Many of these improvements were made in direct response to suggestions from our customers. We thank you for your time and valuable input. We hope you continue to help us ensure that our products meet all your needs. You can post feedback in the Sentinel forum on NetIQ Communities, our online community that also includes product information, blogs, and links to helpful resources.

The documentation for this product is available on the NetIQ website in HTML and PDF formats on a page that does not require you to log in. If you have suggestions for documentation improvements, click the comment icon on any page in the HTML version of the documentation posted at the Sentinel NetIQ Documentation page. To download this product, see the Sentinel Product Upgrade website.

For the latest version of these release notes, see Sentinel 8.1 Patch Update 1 Release Notes.

1.0 What’s New?

This patch update resolves the following enhancement and software issues:

1.1 Enhancement to the NoDataAlert Event

The NoDataAlert event now includes tags assigned to the Event Source, Connector, or Collector node that is being alerted on. You can now filter on that tag to easily identify the specific node that is not receiving data.

The NoDataAlert event now includes the following event fields:

For Collector:

  • CollectorID(rv22)

  • CollectorManagerID(rv21)

For Connector:

  • ConnectorID(rv23)

  • CollectorID(rv22)

  • CollectorManagerID(rv21)

For Event Source:

  • ConnectorID(rv23)

  • CollectorID(rv22)

  • EventSourceID(rv24)

  • CollectorManagerID(rv21)

1.2 Restarting or Upgrading to Sentinel 8.1 Clears All Dynamic Lists

Issue: When you restart Sentinel 8.1 or upgrade to Sentinel 8.1, it clears all existing Dynamic Lists. (Bug 1047127)

Fix: Restarting or upgrading to Sentinel 8.1 does not clear Dynamic Lists.

1.3 Sentinel 8.1 Main and Dashboards Do Not Launch After Upgrade

Issue: After the Sentinel 8.1 upgrade is complete, Sentinel Main and the dashboards do not launch and displays the HTTP ERROR 500 error. (Bug 1047106)

Fix: Sentinel 8.1 Main and dashboards now launch properly after the upgrade.

1.4 Partition ID Does Not Synchronize Correctly in PostgreSQL Database

Issue: The Partition ID does not synchronize correctly, causing mismatched event details when correlating events with incidents. (Bug 1028620)

Fix: When correlating events with incidents, the Partition ID now returns the appropriate value.

NOTE:It can take up to two days for data synchronization to update the Partition ID value. To ensure you provide enough time for the data synchronizes correctly, set the value in the data retention policy to more than 2.

1.5 Sentinel Prints Audit Events to Log File

Issue: Sentinel automatically prints audit events to the log file. (Bug 969147)

Fix: By default, Sentinel no longer prints audit events to the log file.

If you want to print audit events to the log file, open the server_log.prop file and add the following comment:

"esecurity.ccs.comp.audit.AuditLogger.level=INFO"

1.6 Scheduled Reports Display Incorrect Time Range in the Reports and Searches Panel

Scheduled reports now display the correct time range in the Reports and Searches panel. (Bug 1016735)

1.7 IllegalRuleException During Startup Prevents Correlation Engine From Initializing

Issue: Recent changes to how Sentinel validates correlation rules cause the Correlation Engine to fail to initialize if Sentinel has an older deployed rule with incorrect syntax. (Bugs 1039598 and 1039835)

Fix: Correlation Engine does not stop if there are older deployed rules with incorrect syntax. Also, you can now edit the invalid rule and correct the syntax to ensure that the rule works as expected.

1.8 Agent Version is Empty in Device Details Page

Issue: After collecting attributes from an agent, the Device Details page displays a null value in Agent Version. (Bug 993290)

Fix: The Device Details page now displays the correct Agent Version value.

2.0 System Requirements

For information about hardware requirements, supported operating systems, and browsers, see the Technical Information for Sentinel page.

3.0 Installing Sentinel 8.1 Patch Update 1

For information about installing Sentinel 8.1 Patch Update 1, see the NetIQ Sentinel Installation and Configuration Guide.

4.0 Upgrading to Sentinel 8.1 Patch Update 1

You can upgrade to Sentinel 8.1 Patch Update 1 from Sentinel 7.4 and later.

For information about upgrading to Sentinel 8.1 Patch Update 1, see the NetIQ Sentinel Installation and Configuration Guide.

5.0 Known Issues

NetIQ Corporation strives to ensure our products provide quality solutions for your enterprise software needs. The following issues are currently being researched. If you need further assistance with any issue, please contact Technical Support.

The Java 8 update included in Sentinel might impact the following plug-ins:

  • Cisco SDEE Connector

  • SAP (XAL) Connector

  • Remedy Integrator

For any issues with these plug-ins, NetIQ will prioritize and fix the issues according to standard defect-handling policies. For more information about support polices, see Support Policies.

5.1 Installation of Collector Manager and Correlation Engine Appliance Fails in Languages Other than English in MFA Mode

Issue: Installation of Collector Manager and Correlation Engine appliance fails in MFA mode if the operating system language is other than English. (Bug 1045967)

Workaround: Install Collector Manager and Correlation Engine appliances in English. After the installation is complete, change the language as needed.

5.2 Sentinel Cannot Run Local Reports with Default EPS License

Issue: If your environment has the default 25 EPS license and you run a report, the report fails with the following error:

License for Distributed Search feature is expired

(Bug 1034656)

Workaround: To run reports in the same JVM as Sentinel, complete the following steps:

  1. Log in to the Sentinel server and open the /etc/opt/novell/sentinel/config/server.xml file.

  2. Locate the following property:

    <property name="reporting.process.oktorunstandalone">true</property>

  3. Change the setting to false:

    <property name="reporting.process.oktorunstandalone">false</property>

  4. Restart Sentinel.

5.3 Synchronization Needs to be Started Manually in Sentinel High Availability After You Convert the Active Node to FIPS 140-2 Mode

Issue: When you convert the active node to FIPS 140-2 mode in Sentinel HA, the synchronization to convert all the passive nodes to FIPS 140-2 mode is not performed completely. You must start the synchronization manually. (Bug 1014472)

Workaround: Manually synchronize all passive nodes to FIPS 140-2 mode as follows:

  1. Log in as the root user on the active node.

  2. Open the /etc/csync2/csync2.cfg file.

  3. Change the following line:

    include /etc/opt/novell/sentinel/3rdparty/nss/*;

    to

    include /etc/opt/novell/sentinel/3rdparty/nss;

  4. Save the csync2.cfg file.

  5. Start the synchronization manually by running the following command:

    csync2 -x -v

5.4 Cannot Launch Event Visualization Dashboard

Issue: An issue prevents Internet Explorer 11 from being able to open the Event Visualization dashboard. (Bug 981308)

Workaround: Use a different browser to view or modify the Visualization dashboard.

5.5 Cannot Install Sentinel on SLES 11 SP4 in FIPS Mode

Issue: If you try to install Sentinel on a computer that is running the SLES 11 SP4 operating system in FIPS mode, the installation process will fail. (Bug 990201)

Workaround: Ensure the operating system is not in FIPS mode, and then complete the following steps:

  1. Install Sentinel. For more information, see Installing Sentinel in the Sentinel Installation and Configuration Guide.

  2. Enable Sentinel Server to run in FIPS mode. For more information, see Enabling Sentinel Server to Run in FIPS 140-2 Mode in the Sentinel Installation and Configuration Guide.

  3. Use the following command to enable the operating system to run in FIPS mode:

    fips=1 /boot/grub/menu.lst

5.6 When Upgrading the Sentinel Appliance from Versions Prior to 7.4 SP1, an Incorrect Warning Displays

Issue: A change to password storage in Sentinel 7.4 SP1 causes the following error to display when upgrading the appliance from versions prior to 7.4 SP1:

Failed to set encrypted password

(Bug 967764)

Workaround: The warning is expected and you can safely ignore it. There is no impact to the upgrade.

5.7 Sentinel Main Interface Displays Blank Page After Converting to Sentinel Scalable Data Manager

Issue: After you enable SSDM, when you log in to the Sentinel Main interface, the browser displays a blank page. (Bug 1006677)

Workaround: Close your browser and log in to the Sentinel Main interface again. This issue only happens once, the first time you log in to the Sentinel Main interface after you enable SSDM.

5.8 Exception in the Sentinel Server Log When You Upgrade Sentinel Versions Prior to 7.3 SP1 to Versions 7.3 SP1 and Later

Issue: When you upgrade Sentinel from version 7.3 to version 7.3 SP1 and start the Sentinel server, you might see the following exception in the server log:

Invalid length of data object ......

(Bug 933640)

Workaround: Ignore the exception. There is no impact to Sentinel performance because of this exception.

5.9 Cannot View Alerts with IPv6 Data in Alert Views

Issue: Sentinel alert views and alert dashboards do not display alerts that have IPv6 addresses in IP address fields. (Bug 924874)

Workaround: To view alerts with IPv6 addresses in Sentinel, perform the steps mentioned in NetIQ Knowledgebase Article 7016555.

5.10 Tips Table Search Does Not Return the Complete List of Alert Fields in Upgraded Sentinel Installations

Issue: In upgraded installations of Sentinel, when you search for alert attributes in the Tips table in the Sentinel Main interface, the search does not return the complete list of alert fields. However, alert fields display correctly in the Tips table if you clear the search. (Bug 914755)

Workaround: There is no workaround at this time.

5.11 Data Synchronization Fails While Synchronizing IPv6 Addresses in Human Readable Format

Issue: Data synchronization fails when you try to synchronize IPv6 address fields in a human readable format to external databases. For information about configuring Sentinel to populate the IP address fields in human readable dot notation format, see Creating a Data Synchronization Policy in the NetIQ Sentinel Administration Guide. (Bug 913014)

Workaround: To fix this issue, manually change the maximum size of the IP address fields to at least 46 characters in the target database, and re-synchronize the database.

5.12 Event Search Does Not Respond if You Do Not Have Any Event Viewing Permissions

Issue: If you run an event search when your role's security filter is blank and your role does not have event viewing permissions, the search does not complete. The search does not display any error message about the invalid event viewing permissions. (Bug 908666)

Workaround: Update the role with one of the following options:

  1. Specify criteria in the Only events matching the criteria field. If users in the role should not see any events, you can enter NOT sev:[0 TO 5].

  2. Select View system events.

  3. Select View all event data (including raw data and NetFlow data).

5.13 The Event fields Panel is Missing in the Schedule Page When Editing Some Saved Searches

Issue: When editing a saved search upgraded from Sentinel 7.2 to a later version, the Event fields panel, used to specify output fields in the search report CSV, is missing in the schedule page. (Bug 900293)

Workaround: After upgrading Sentinel, recreate and reschedule the search to view the Event fields panel in the schedule page.

5.14 Sentinel Does Not Return Any Correlated Events When You Search for Events for the Deployed Rule with the Default Fire Count Search

Issue: Sentinel does not return any correlated events when you search for all correlated events that were generated after the rule was deployed or enabled, by clicking the icon next to Fire count in the Activity statistics panel in the Correlation Summary page for the rule. (Bug 912820)

Workaround: Change the value in the From field in the Event Search page to a time earlier than the populated time in the field and click Search again.

5.15 Security Intelligence Dashboard Displays Invalid Baseline Duration When Regenerating a Baseline

Issue: During Security Intelligence baseline regeneration, the start and finish dates for the baseline are incorrect and display 1/1/1970. (Bug 912009)

Workaround: The correct dates are updated after the baseline regeneration is complete.

5.16 Sentinel Server Shuts Down When Running a Search If There Are Large Number of Events in a Single Partition

Issue: Sentinel server shuts down when you run a search if there are a large number of events indexed in a single partition. (Bug 913599)

Workaround: Create retention policies in such a way that there are at least two partitions open in a day. Having more than one partition open helps reduce the number of events indexed in partitions.

You can create retention policies that filter events based on the estzhour field, which tracks the hour of the day. Therefore, you can create one retention policy with estzhour:[0 TO 11] as the filter and another retention policy with estzhour:[12 TO 23] as the filter.

For more information, see Configuring Data Retention Policies in the NetIQ Sentinel Administration Guide.

5.17 Error While Using the report_dev_setup.sh Script to Configure Sentinel Ports for Firewall Exceptions on Upgraded Sentinel Appliance Installations

Issue: Sentinel displays an error when you use the report_dev_setup.sh script to configure Sentinel ports for firewall exceptions. (Bug 914874)

Workaround: Configure Sentinel ports for firewall exceptions through the following steps:

  1. Open the /etc/sysconfig/SuSEfirewall2 file.

  2. Change the following line:

    FW_SERVICES_EXT_TCP=" 443 8443 4984 22 61616 10013 289 1289 1468 1443 40000:41000 1290 1099 2000 1024 1590"

    to

    FW_SERVICES_EXT_TCP=" 443 8443 4984 22 61616 10013 289 1289 1468 1443 40000:41000 1290 1099 2000 1024 1590 5432"

  3. Restart Sentinel.

5.18 Sentinel Generic Collector Performance Degrades When Generic Hostname Resolution Service Collector is Enabled

Issue: Sentinel Generic Collector performance degrades when Generic Hostname Resolution Service Collector is enabled on Microsoft Active Directory and Windows Collector. EPS decreases by 50% when remote Collector Managers send events. (Bug 906715)

Workaround: There is no workaround at this time.

5.19 The Web Browser Displays an Error When Exporting Search Results in Sentinel

Issue: When exporting search results in Sentinel, the Web browser might display an error if you modify the operating system language settings. (Bug 834874)

Workaround: To export search results properly, perform either of the following:

  • While exporting the search results, remove any special characters (outside the ASCII characters) from the export filename.

  • Enable UTF-8 in the operating system language settings, restart the machine, and then restart the Sentinel server.

5.20 Unable to View More Than One Report Result at a Time

Issue: While you wait for one report result PDF to open, particularly report results of 1 million events, if you click another report result PDF to view, the report result is not displayed. (Bug 804683)

Workaround: Click the second report result PDF again to view the report result.

5.21 Agent Manager Requires SQL Authentication When FIPS 140-2 Mode is Enabled

Issue: When FIPS 140-2 mode is enabled in your Sentinel environment, using Windows authentication for Agent Manager causes synchronization with the Agent Manager database to fail. (Bug 814452)

Workaround: Use SQL authentication for Agent Manager when FIPS 140-2 mode is enabled in your Sentinel environment.

5.22 Sentinel High Availability Installation in Non-FIPS 140-2 Mode Displays an Error

Issue: The Sentinel High Availability installation in non-FIPS 140-2 mode completes successfully but displays the following error twice:

/opt/novell/sentinel/setup/configure.sh: line 1045: [: too many arguments 

(Bug 810764)

Workaround: The error is expected and you can safely ignore it. Although the installer displays the error, the Sentinel High Availability configuration works successfully in non-FIPS 140-2 mode.

5.23 Active Search Jobs Duration and Accessed Columns Inaccuracies

Issue: The Sentinel Main interface displays negative numbers in the Active Search Job Duration and Accessed columns when the Sentinel Main interface computer clock is behind the Sentinel server clock. For example, the Duration and Accessed columns display negative numbers when the Sentinel Main interface clock is set to 1:30 PM and the Sentinel server clock is set to 2:30 PM. (Bug 719875)

Workaround: Ensure the time on the computer you use to access the Sentinel Main interface is the same as or later than the time on the Sentinel server computer.

5.24 IssueSAMLToken Audit Event Displays Incorrect Information in the Security Intelligence Dashboard

Issue: When you log in to the security dashboard and perform a search for IssueSAMLToken audit event, the IssueSAMLToken audit event displays incorrect hostname (InitiatorUserName) or (IP address) SourceIP. (Bug 870609)

Workaround: There is no workaround at this time.

6.0 Contact Information

Our goal is to provide documentation that meets your needs. If you have suggestions for improvements, please email Documentation-Feedback@netiq.com. We value your input and look forward to hearing from you.

For detailed contact information, see the Support Contact Information website.

For general corporate and product information, see the NetIQ Corporate website.

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