FlexNet Inventory Agent

Need to Know: Web Metering 2.0

Release Date

Web Metering 2.0 will be released as part of the FlexNet Inventory Agent 25.5.0 (2025 R2.5) on May 13 for Europe and APAC, and May 20 for the Americas.

For the Snow Inventory Agent, it will be available in version 26.1.1 on June 10.

What is it

Web Metering 2.0 is an enhanced capability within Flexera that enables tracking of web application usage through browser extensions integrated with both the FlexNet and Snow agents.

At its core, it introduces a new shared web metering module that operates across both agents, enabling direct communication between the browser extensions and the agent. This modern architecture replaces the previous file-based approach, resulting in a more secure and efficient data collection process.

How it works

Web Metering 2.0 improves the data flow by redefining how browser activity is captured and processed:

• Browser extensions capture URLs visited by users
• Data is sent directly to a local agent API over HTTP or HTTPS
• The module filters and processes URLs using Allow List rules
• Only relevant and sanitized data is retained and passed to the agent
• The agent consolidates the processed data and sends it upstream for SaaS usage recognition

What has changed

No raw browsing data stored on disk

URLs are now processed before being stored. Previously, raw browsing activity was cached on disk before being processed by the agent.

Stronger protection of sensitive data

Query parameters are removed from URLs by default. Enhanced Allow List rules control what data is retained and apply masking when Personal Information is detected.

Direct communication between extension and agent

The new web metering module introduces a write-only, machine-local API endpoint running on 127.0.0.1:40400, which is not externally accessible. TLS can be configured to encrypt communication between the browser extension and the agent.

Improved troubleshooting

The new module allows testing of URL matching and sensitive data removal directly from the command line.

Improved browser coverage

This design restores support for Apple Safari following previous limitations on extension-generated data.

The Firefox extension is now available in the Mozilla store, improving the installation and update experiences.

Consistent implementation across agents

A single, shared web metering module is used across both FlexNet and Snow agents, helping standardize behaviour and simplify deployment.

Security considerations

Web Metering 2.0 is designed with a strong security-first approach to ensure customer environments remain protected while delivering accurate SaaS usage insights.

The solution uses a machine-local, non-externally accessible communication mechanism, ensuring no additional external services or attack surfaces are introduced. TLS can be enabled to further secure communication between browser extensions and the agent.

Sensitive data exposure is minimized through filtering, masking, and by avoiding unnecessary data storage.

Importantly, the feature is fully customer-controlled and opt-in, preserving existing trust boundaries and ensuring organizations maintain complete control over their data and deployment.

Official release of FlexNet Inventory Agent 25.5.0

We are pleased to announce the release of the FlexNet Inventory Agent 25.5.0.

Release Date: EU/AP: 2026-05-13, NA: 2026-05-20

This release includes:

• Support for Unicode file names in PVU hardware inventory
• Verified inventory collection support for AWS Bottlerocket Linux
• New file size and publisher fields in agent usage (.mmi) file
• Least privilege mode support for the Kubernetes agent
• High-availability support for multiple KRM controllers
• Configurable limit for concurrent KRM image scans
• Improved collection of browser extension URL data for web metering
• Improved web metering URL processing for sensitive query parameters
• Fix for containerd inventory scan being skipped when Podman scanning is enabled
• Fix for backslash characters being replaced in beacon authentication usernames on UNIX-like operating systems
• Fix for Java version information being ignored
• Fix for missing diagnostic detail when an agent upgrade package fails signature verification
• Fix for ndtrack crash caused by invalid macOS bundle plist data
• Bundled software version updated

Customer Impact:

• Previously, some PVU hardware inventory files with Unicode characters in the filename (for example, usernames containing accented characters) could be skipped during processing. Now, these inventory files are handled correctly. This enhancement helps prevent unnecessary creation of duplicate inventory files.
• Inventory collection support for Bottlerocket Linux environments has been verified for the Flexera Kubernetes Inventory Agent (KRM) and the Linux inventory agent. This enhancement provides clearer deployment guidance for Kubernetes environments using Bottlerocket.
• Previously, the agent usage file (.mmi) did not include file size and publisher information. Now, the .mmi output includes these additional fields. This enhancement improves the usefulness of usage data for some reporting scenarios.
• Previously, the Kubernetes agent required elevated privileges to run, which could be a blocker in environments with strict security policies. Now, the Kubernetes agent can be run in a least privilege mode. This enhancement supports improved security posture and broader deployability.
• Previously, Kubernetes agent deployments did not support configuring multiple controllers in a high availability pattern. Now, multiple KRM controllers can be deployed so that only one is active while others remain passive and can take over if needed. This enhancement supports high availability requirements and improves resilience.
• Previously, the Kubernetes agent could initiate an unlimited number of concurrent container inventory scans when first deployed, which could result in a high volume of simultaneous requests to the Kubernetes API server. Now, the number of concurrent container inventory scans is limited to 10 by default. This limit is configurable to suit the environment's requirements.
• Previously, collecting web metering URL data from browser extensions had limitations in some environments (including Safari) and required approaches that were harder to standardize across browsers. Now, the solution for obtaining URL data has been improved and unified across supported browsers. This enhancement improves compatibility and supports future security and processing improvements.
• NOTE: This enhancement requires the updated browser extensions. The previous browser extensions are not compatible with this release.
• Previously, web metering URL collection could include unnecessary query parameter values that might contain sensitive information. Now, URL processing supports masking or dropping sensitive query parameters according to updated allowlist rules. This enhancement helps reduce privacy risk and unnecessary data transmission.
• Previously, enabling both containerd inventory scanning and Podman inventory scanning on the FlexNet Inventory Agent for Linux could cause containerd inventory collection to be skipped. This release resolves this issue.
• Previously, usernames containing backslash (\) characters (for example, in domain\user formats) could be rewritten with forward slashes (/) when applying configuration on UNIX-like operating systems. This release resolves this issue.
• Previously, valid Java version information could be ignored if the java -version command returned a non-zero exit code, even when the version output was present. This release resolves this issue.
• Previously, if a downloaded upgrade package failed signature verification, the agent logs could provide only a generic "Signature check failed" message without additional detail. This release resolves this issue.
• Previously, the FlexNet Inventory Agent for macOS could crash when reading certain bundle .plist files containing embedded newlines or carriage returns in key fields. This release resolves this issue.
• The OpenSSL, Go, Moby (replaced Docker), Podman, and Kubernetes third party libraries bundled with the agent have been updated in this release to address security vulnerabilities.

IMPORTANT

This release updates the Docker client library to be compatible with Docker Engine 29.3.x and 29.4.x. The update requires Docker Engine API version 1.40 or later to be present on the machine running fnms-docker-monitor. Docker versions 18 and 19, which use Docker Engine API version 1.39, are no longer supported. If the installed Docker Engine does not meet this requirement, fnms-docker-monitor will be unable to connect to the Docker API and will not collect any inventory data.

Product Documentation: Agent Documentation 

Please find more about the content of this release in the Release Notes.

Introducing Web Metering 2.0

Re‑architected for Security, Enhanced Privacy, and Safari Support Is Back

We’re pleased to announce Web Metering 2.0, a significant enhancement to web application metering for FlexNet and Snow agents. This release introduces a newly re‑architected browser data ingestion pipeline, delivering stronger security, improved privacy protections, and expanded browser support—including the return of Apple Safari.

What’s New in Web Metering 2.0

Web Metering 2.0 has been redesigned from the ground up to provide a more secure and privacy‑focused experience while maintaining reliable usage insights.

Key benefits include:

• 🔐 Enhanced Security
• Improved protections across browser data collection and ingestion.
• 🛡️ Reduced PII Collection
• Optimized data handling to minimise the capture of Personally Identifiable Information (PII).
• 🌍 Expanded Browser Support
• Full support for Apple Safari, alongside Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, and Mozilla Firefox.

What You Need to Know

To use Web Metering 2.0, customers must deploy both a new agent version and the new Web Metering browser extensions.

Required Agent Versions

• FlexNet Agent: Available in v25.5.0 (scheduled for May release)
• Snow Agent: Available in v26.1.1 (scheduled for June release)

Important:

Existing agent versions are only compatible with the current browser extensions.

The new extensions labelled “Flexera Web Metering” will work only with the agent versions listed above and later.

🌐 Current Browser Extension Downloads

Please continue using the following extensions until the new version of the agents are released.

• Google Chrome
• https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/snow-web-application-mete/blojlgglhfcmpigjbkllcgjmhincdjhb
• Microsoft Edge
• Snow Web Application Metering - Microsoft Edge Addons
• Mozilla Firefox
• https://github.com/SnowSoftware/agent-firefox-extension/

Official release of FlexNet Inventory Agent 25.4.0

We are pleased to announce the release of the FlexNet Inventory Agent 25.4.0.

Release Date: EU/AP: 2026-04-15, NA: 2026-04-22

This release includes:

• Fix for libexec folder permission issues preventing upgrades to web metering versions
• Fix for FlexNet Inventory Agent crash when detecting web applications on Windows native paths
• Bundled software version updated

Customer Impact:

• Previously, upgrading FlexNet Inventory Agent to a version that included web metering did not correctly update permissions on the libexec folder, which could cause the web metering module not to function unless the earlier version was uninstalled first. This release resolves this issue.
• Previously, the ndtrack inventory process could crash shortly after logging “Started web application tracking” when detecting web applications from processes that used Windows native volume paths. This release resolves this issue.
• The Expat, libcurl, and zlib third party libraries bundled with the FlexNet Inventory Agent have been updated in this release to address security vulnerabilities.

Product Documentation: Agent Documentation 

Please find more about the content of this release in the Release Notes.

Official release of FlexNet Inventory Agent 25.3.0

We are pleased to announce the release of the FlexNet Inventory Agent 25.3.0.

Release Date: EU/AP: 2026-03-18, NA: 2026-03-25

This release includes:

• Enhanced Linux agent service management
• Removal of 32-bit agent installers
• Security context and liveness configuration for Kubernetes agent
• Fix for Windows agent upload blocking due to missing WinHTTP timeout values
• Fix for agent service management after systemd migration on Linux
• Fix for ndtrack failure with exit code 126 when /tmp directory is set with noexec
• Fix for Kubernetes agent not gathering inventory details due to missing InventorySettings.xml
• Fix for inventory upload failure after gathering Oracle Database or FMW inventory
• Fix for duplicate content records in process inventory for application detection
• Bundled software version updated

Customer Impact:

• Previously, the Linux agent installer called systemctl start after migrating from init.d to systemd, which could leave services in a broken or stale state. Now, the installer uses systemctl restart to ensure services are properly restarted and running. This enhancement provides more reliable service management during upgrades.
• Support for 32‑bit Linux i686 and Solaris x86 agent installers has been removed in this release. From version 25.3.0 onward, only 64‑bit agent installers are included in IT Asset Management deployments.
• Previously, the Kubernetes agent (KRM) did not support configuration for resource allocation, liveness probes, labels, or security context. Now, the agent supports a user-editable YAML file for these settings, allowing customers to customize limits, livenessProbe, and securityContext on the KRM controller. This enhancement provides greater flexibility and compliance with internal security policies.
• Previously, the Windows FlexNet agent did not set explicit WinHTTP timeout values, which could result in upload operations blocking and ndupload.exe hanging. This release resolves this issue by ensuring appropriate timeout values are set.
• Previously, the Linux agent only called services via init.d, causing newly upgraded agents to fail to start when using systemd. This release resolves this issue by implementing systemd calls when starting or stopping agent services, ensuring proper service management after migration.
• Previously, the FlexNet Inventory Scanner could fail with exit code 126 if the /tmp directory was set with noexec, particularly in container environments. This release resolves this issue.
• Previously, the Flexera Kubernetes agent (KRM) did not gather inventory details associated with settings in InventorySettings.xml because the file was not copied into containers being scanned. This release resolves this issue.
• Previously, uploading inventory could fail with an error indicating "Failed to load library /opt/managesoft/lib/libuploader: Not enough space" after gathering Oracle Database or FMW inventory, especially on 32-bit systems. This release resolves this issue by improving memory management during the upload phase.
• Previously, there could be duplicate content records if the file system scan reported the same executable as a running process, leading to redundant entries in the inventory. This release resolves this issue by ensuring only a single content record is created per executable, improving inventory accuracy.
• The Expat, Go, and OpenSSL third party libraries bundled with the FlexNet Inventory Agent have been updated in this release to address security vulnerabilities.

Product Documentation: Agent Documentation 

Please find more about the content of this release in the Release Notes.

Official release of FlexNet Inventory Agent 25.2.0

We are pleased to announce the release of the FlexNet Inventory Agent 25.2.0.

Release Date: EU/AP: 2026-02-18, NA: 2026-02-25

This release includes:

• Containerd support in imgtrack
• Fix for Windows FlexNet Inventory Agent crash during software process scan
• Fix for incorrect permissions on temporary storage directories created by fnms-podman-monitor
• Fix for skipping Podman container inventory if storage directory does not exist
• Fix for agent hang when collecting disk space from network filesystems
• Fix for agent hang during logical device space calculation
• Fix for Kubernetes image details not appearing in All Containers view
• Fix for ndschedag executing flxconfig using an incorrect path
• Fix for MachineType reporting on macOS arm64 virtual instances
• Bundled software version updated

Customer Impact:

• Previously, Flexera's Kubernetes agent did not support collecting inventory from environments using the containerd container runtime. Now, the imgtrack tool used with the Kubernetes agent has been enhanced to support containerd, enabling comprehensive inventory collection from environments using this widely adopted container runtime. This enhancement provides greater compatibility and improved visibility for containerized workloads.
• Previously, the agent could crash when scanning for software processes on certain Windows systems. This release resolves this issue.
• Previously, the fnms-podman-monitor created temporary storage directories with incorrect permissions, allowing world-writable access without a sticky bit set. This release resolves this issue by ensuring the correct permissions are enforced on these directories.
• Previously, inventory gathering for Podman containers could be skipped if the expected storage directory did not exist, resulting in incomplete inventory data. This release resolves this issue.
• Previously, collecting disk space information from certain network filesystems could cause the FlexNet Inventory Agent to hang during inventory collection. This release resolves this issue by excluding network filesystems from the disk space calculation.
• Previously, only the call to the filesystem was implemented with a timeout, so the agent could still hang when calculating the disk space of a network filesystem. This release resolves this issue by adding a timeout to the disk space calculation and improving logging for troubleshooting.
• Previously, Kubernetes image details gathered by the Lightweight Kubernetes agent might not appear in the All Containers view if certain image details were missing from the node status. This release resolves this issue.
• Previously, the agent could attempt to execute flxconfig using an incorrect path if installed on the IT Asset Management application server, resulting in errors. This release resolves this issue.
• Previously, inventory agents running on macOS arm64 virtual instances reported the MachineType as "physical" instead of "virtual." This release resolves this issue by correctly identifying and reporting the MachineType for virtual instances.
• The http://github.com/sigstore/fulcio, http://github.com/containernetworking/plugins, Go and libcurl third party libraries bundled with the FlexNet Inventory Agent have been updated in this release to address security vulnerabilities.

Product Documentation: Agent Documentation 

Please find more about the content of this release in the Release Notes.

Official release of FlexNet Inventory Agent 25.1.0

We are pleased to announce the release of the FlexNet Inventory Agent 25.1.0.

Release Date: EU/AP: 2026-01-21, NA: 2026-01-28

This release includes:

• Kubernetes agent support for Flatcar Container Linux
• Linux agent support for ContainerD
• Non-root execution for Lightweight Kubernetes Agent
• IBM LPAR pool capacity reporting
• Fix for CRL cache handling in FlexNet inventory agent
• Fix for processor capacity reporting for capped LPARs
• Fix for CRL file handling in FlexNet inventory agent on macOS
• Fix for logical disk space retrieval hangs on network filesystems
• Fix for default exclusion of Windows container directories in FlexNet inventory agent
• Fix for browser extension removal during FlexNet inventory agent uninstall
• Fix for web metering browser plugin installation logging
• Fix for FlexNet inventory agent uninstall wait time
• Fix for uncontrolled reboot during FlexNet inventory agent self-upgrade on Windows
• Fix for inconsistent timestamp formats in flxconfig logs on Unix
• Fix for RPM package release details in usage data
• Bundled software version updated

Customer Impact:

• The Flexera Kubernetes agent can collect inventory for containers and images running on Flatcar Container Linux and correctly reports Flatcar as the operating system. This enhancement provides broader coverage for modern, container-optimized platforms, helping users manage assets consistently across Flatcar-based Kubernetes and standalone Flatcar instances.
• This release introduces a new ContainerD monitor (fnms-containerd-monitor) for the FlexNet agent on Linux. This enhancement provides broader coverage of containerized workloads and more accurate, configurable inventory data for Linux environments.
• The Lightweight Kubernetes Agent container is built to include a dedicated non-root user and runs the agent under this account by default. This enhancement provides improved security and better alignment with containerization best practices.
• The agent primarily uses the more accurate "Maximum Capacity of Pool" value, with "Active CPUs in Pool" used only as a fallback when needed. This enhancement provides more precise capacity data to support accurate pool capping calculations and licensing decisions.
• The FlexNet inventory agent now correctly communicates with a beacon when a new certificate revocation list (CRL) is published before the current CRL's stated expiry time.
• The FlexNet inventory agent now reports the correct processor capacity values for capped LPARs, providing a more accurate value for license consumption calculations.
• Fix for CRL file handling in FlexNet inventory agent on macOS. The agent no longer saves an empty (0 byte) CRL file.
• The FlexNet inventory agent now has a 60-second timeout for the disk space calculation. This should help with situations were the agent hanged or took too long when calculating disk space.
• The FlexNet inventory agent on Windows now excludes the directory C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Containers from inventory collection.
• The FlexNet inventory agent now correctly removes the browser extensions when the agent is uninstalled.
• The FlexNet inventory agent now writes to file even if it has nothing to report to improve the troubleshooting experience.
• The uninstallation logic for the agent has been improved, so the process is much faster.
• The FlexNet inventory agent on Windows has been improved to fully suppress reboot behavior when files were in use, during an agent upgrade.
• The flxconfig component of the Flexera inventory agent on Unix systems now correctly uses a single timestamp format for all logs.
• The FlexNet inventory agent now correctly captures usage for RPM packages on Linux systems. 
• The libcurl, libxslt, github.com/sigstore/fulcio, github.com/containernetworking/plugins and golang.org/x/crypto third party libraries bundled with the FlexNet Inventory Agent have been updated in this release to address security vulnerabilities.

Product Documentation: Agent Documentation 

Please find more about the content of this release in the Release Notes.

Official release of FlexNet Inventory Agent 25.0.0

We are pleased to announce the release of the FlexNet Inventory Agent 25.0.0.

Release Date: EU/AP: 2025-11-19, NA: 2025-11-25, On-premises: 2025-12-03

This release includes:

• Windows Store application installer evidence collection
• Process inventory for improved application detection
• Fix for event stream reconnection in fnms-docker-monitor
• Fix for agent service management on Linux platforms
• Fix for duplicate computer name in web metering output
• Fix for removal of Docker Monitor service during agent upgrade
• Fix for agent startup after reboot on SUSE Linux
• Bundled software version updated

Customer Impact:

• The agent gathers installer evidence for Windows Store (AppX/MsiX) applications, enabling accurate identification and improved detection of these applications.
• The agent gathers more detailed process information across supported platforms and uses this data as additional evidence for application detection.
• The agent now ensures that event monitoring continues smoothly following a Docker restart on systems running k3s and Docker.
• The agent now prioritizes systemd over init.d, for service management whenever it is present.
• Computer name is no longer duplicated in the account field of the web metering file when users accessed a device via Remote Desktop.
• Flexera Inventory Docker Monitor service (fnms-docker-monitor.exe) is no longer removed when upgrading the Windows agent from version 22.4 (2024 R1.4) or earlier.
• The agent will automatically start normally after a reboot on SUSE Linux systems using systemd, such as SUSE Linux Enterprise 15.
• The OpenSSL, http://github.com/opencontainers/selinux, and http://github.com/opencontainers/runc third party libraries bundled with the FlexNet Inventory Agent have been updated in this release to address security vulnerabilities.

Product Documentation: Agent Documentation 

Please find more about the content of this release in the Release Notes.