What evidence do auditors commonly ask for on 19 Patch operating systems (Essential)?

Vulnerability risk rating method defining extreme risk, and the clock start used to measure the 48-hour patch target; Vulnerability scan results mapped to OS patch deployment records, showing extreme risk fixes applied within 48 hours; Inventory of operating system versions across computers and network devices, flagging unsupported releases; Patch compliance reports from the management tool with exception records for any delayed systems.

What is the most common gap auditors find on 19?

Network devices such as routers, switches and firewalls excluded from the patch cycle

ASD Strategies to Mitigate Cyber Security Incidents · Limiting the Extent of Cyber Security Incidents

`19` Patch operating systems (Essential)

Patch/mitigate computers (including network devices) with extreme risk vulnerabilities within 48 hours. Use the latest version of operating systems. Don't use unsupported versions.

Source: ASD Strategies to Mitigate Cyber Security Incidents, 19. The statement above is our statement of the clause, read from the published text and cited so you can check it against the official text, not the instrument verbatim. Open ASD Strategies to Mitigate Cyber Security Incidents in the compliance library.

artefacts

held by a system

at each review

easy

to go live

Vulnerability scanner / patch tooling

where the evidence lives

teal = a system already holds it · olive = produced at each review. To go live: easy when half or more of the artefacts are already held by a system, moderate from a quarter to a half, hard below a quarter.

These are the artefacts auditors commonly ask for on this requirement, our guidance rather than text from the standard. Your assessor decides what is sufficient in your context, and asks for samples across the period when a report covers one.

system holds itEvidence a system already holds

Vulnerability scan results mapped to OS patch deployment records, showing extreme risk fixes applied within 48 hours · Vulnerability scanner / patch tooling
Inventory of operating system versions across computers and network devices, flagging unsupported releases · Endpoint management (MDM / EDR)
Patch compliance reports from the management tool with exception records for any delayed systems · Vulnerability scanner / patch tooling

periodic reviewEvidence produced at each review

none for this control

governing documentDocuments that govern the control

Vulnerability risk rating method defining extreme risk, and the clock start used to measure the 48-hour patch target · Policy repository / GRC workspace

First move

Automate the pull from your Vulnerability scanner / patch tooling. Scan schedule, findings and remediation age straight from the scanner; patch compliance from the patch console.

Common gaps auditors find

Network devices such as routers, switches and firewalls excluded from the patch cycle
Extreme risk patches wait for the monthly change window, well past the 48-hour target
Legacy servers still run end-of-support operating system versions with no replacement plan

Do this for your whole sheet

Paste the rows you run your controls from and get this mapping for every control at once, with the periodic-review ones flagged and a first move per row. No account for the first run.

Build my evidence sheet

18 Restrict administrative privileges (Essential) · 20 Multi-factor authentication (Essential)