[German]German blog reader Uwe Kernchen has just pointed out to me an issues that users and administrators of Lancom firewalls (also offered by Rhode & Schwarz) have hade. Since October 1, 2023, the UF-xxx firewalls no longer receive signature updates. Presumably, this is due to Lancom's plan to change the key for the Avira antivirus engine, which may have gone wrong. The issue has been fixed on Oct. 4, 2023.
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Uwe wrote via email, that the Lancom / Rohde&Schwarz firewalls (UF-xxx) have been causing issues October 1, 2023 because they no longer get signature updates. The reader refers to this thread in the German Lancom forum, where the problem is discussed in the community.
No more Avira signature updates
As of October 2, 2023, a user reported because no more antivirus updates are downloadable on his Lancom UF-260 firewall. He wrote that his UF-260 (version LCOS FX 10.12 RU3) has been reporting 'AntiVirus signature database update failed' in the system log since 10/01/2013. The user then tried to initiate an update manually, but failed with the same error.
The user then searched the Lancom-Knowledge, but did not find anything. He writes: "The current firmware is yes, the network works – only the system log grumbles." and asks "Was there a change regarding the download path or update server for the antivirus updates from Avira?"
Announcement from Lancom
In the forum thread, other affected people confirm the problem. Another participant then points in the thread to the Lancom post Aktualisierung der Firmware bei LANCOM R&S®Unified Firewalls aufgrund neuer Schlüssel für die Avira Antivirus-Engine erforderlich (Updating the firmware on LANCOM R&S®Unified Firewalls required due to new keys for the Avira antivirus engine) dated September 9, 2023. There, the manufacturer Lancom states that the keys to download new antivirus patterns from the manufacturer Avira expire on September 30, 2023. This fits exactly with the above scenario.
In the forum thread, other affected people confirm the problem. Another participant then points out the Lancom post from September 9, 2023 in the thread. There, the manufacturer Lancom states that the keys to download new antivirus patterns from the manufacturer Avira expire on September 30, 2023. This fits exactly with the above
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The vendor writes that users or administrators must update LCOS FX so that the antivirus function can be used as usual after the specified date. The update should contain the new key. An update of the keys will take place in the following LCOS FX versions:
- LCOS FX 10.11 RU3
- LCOS FX 10.12 RU3
Without an update to these versions, the antivirus function of the unified firewalls will block every page call from October 01, 2023, or, depending on the manual settings, pass all data traffic unfiltered.
Key change probably went wrong
In the Lancom thread, users of the Lancom / Rohde&Schwarz firewalls (UF-xxx) state that the desired LCOS firmware 10.11 RU3 or higher is in use. In the above text, where I quote a concerned person, LCOS FX 10.12 RU3 is in use. Fits like a glove, of course, since October 1, 2023 fell on a weekend and October 3, 2023 was a holiday.
In the meantime, it has been confirmed by a community participant that a contact person from Rhode & Schwarz has been contacted with the problem and is working on a solution. My status as of 10/4/2023 is that the issues has been resolved sinc a couple of hours.
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