Network Management

Changes to firmware vulnerability data collection in NCM 2023.4 and later

NCM customers on 2023.3 and earlier who are unable to upgrade need to change some configuration setting to enable firmware vulnerability data to work.

First published date

12/14/2023 7:23 PM

Last published date

12/9/2025 11:52 PM

Overview

In NCM 2023.4 and later, firmware vulnerability files are retrieved from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) using the API. This data is stored in the following files:

  • https://downloads.solarwinds.com/solarwinds/data/cve/cve-all.json.zip
  • https://downloads.solarwinds.com/solarwinds/data/cve/cpematch.json.zip

When you upgrade to 2023.4 or later, the NCM firmware vulnerability settings are automatically updated to reflect the new process. If you are unable to upgrade, complete the procedure below to update the settings.

Product section

Network Configuration Manager

Cause

Beginning in December of 2023, NIST no longer provides .zip files for download. Users are encouraged to use the API to retrieve data.

Resolution

  1. Open Firmware Vulnerability Settings:

    1. Click Settings > All Settings.

    2. Under Product Specific Settings, click NCM Settings.

    3. Under Advanced, click Firmware Vulnerability Settings.

  2. Remove the existing URLs from Vulnerability Data Import Settings, and replace them with:

    https://downloads.solarwinds.com/solarwinds/data/cve/cve-all.json.zip

    firmware-vuln-cve.png

    Note: Make sure that every polling engine can access https://downloads.solarwinds.com/.

  3. Open the Advanced Configuration page:

    YourServer/Orion/Admin/AdvancedConfiguration/Global.aspx

  4. On the Global tab in the NCM.Vulnerability group, change the CpeMatchDataFeedUrl setting to:

    https://downloads.solarwinds.com/solarwinds/data/cve/cpematch.json.zip

    firmware-vuln-advanced-opt.png

  5. Open Firmware Vulnerability Settings again.

  6. Click Run Now to ensure that the process runs without errors.