Known Issue: Package installation attempts when updating agent policy on Flexera One beacons fail with "This component has not been digitally signed by its publisher" because the VerifyCatalogSigned preference is "true" (IOK-750277)

[#1]

Summary

When applying agent policy on Flexera One beacons, attempts to install packages that are part of the policy fail with logging like the following:

[6/26/2022 9:43:23 PM (G, 6)] {9708} Installing “InventorySettings[Common]...](1,0,0,0)”
[...]
[6/26/2022 9:43:24 PM (U, 0)] {9708} QUERY: Unsigned catalog
[6/26/2022 9:43:24 PM (U, 0)] {9708} ----------------
[6/26/2022 9:43:24 PM (U, 0)] {9708} FlexNet Manager Platform is attempting to open or install

"InventorySettings"

This component has not been digitally signed by its publisher.
Please be aware that some files may contain viruses
or otherwise harm your computer.

Do you wish to continue?
[6/26/2022 9:43:24 PM (U, 0)] {9708} ----------------
[6/26/2022 9:43:24 PM (U, 0)] {9708} RESPONSE: No

Details

This behavior occurs because an internal installation agent property VerifyCatalogSigned is set to true, indicating that only packages which are digitally signed can be installed. This is to ensure that packages the beacon downloads from the Flexera One environment are signed. However a side effect is that packages in agent policy cannot be installed, as these packages are not signed.

A package that will fail to install due to this issue is the “InventorySettings” package. A consequence of this package not being installed as that the inventory gathering process will be unable to gather details of some specialized software applications that may be installed, such as Oracle Database, Microsoft Exchange Server, and others. This is not typically a concern, as it is unusual to have this type of software installed on Flexera One beacons.

Mitigations

The issue will not occur if the VerifyCatalogSigned preference is set to false (configured in the HKLM\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\ManageSoft Corp\ManageSoft\Launcher\CurrentVersion\VerifyCatalogSigned registry entry). However changing this configuration is not recommended as it means the beacon will not require details downloaded from the Flexera One environment to be signed.

Fix status

This issue has been fixed in the following FlexNet Manager Suite release: 2023 R2.2 / Feb 2024 (Cloud)

This issue is planned to be addressed in the following future FlexNet Manager Suite release: 2024 R1 / Jun 2024 (Cloud)

Other information

Affected components: Agent, Inventory Beacon

Master issue ID: IOK-750277

Also known as: ITAM-1269