We are reaching out to inform you of a service interruption regarding the AIX Download Plug-in R2.
The Issue
Users may currently experience failures when attempting to download packages for OpenSSH and OpenSSL via the AIX Plug-in.
The Root Cause
IBM has recently updated their authentication mechanism for these specific packages to include Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA).
It is important to clarify that this is strictly due to a change on the IBM side. Because the AIX Download Plug-in R2 is designed for automated, non-interactive background processes, it cannot prompt for or satisfy an MFA challenge, resulting in a failed handshake and "Download Failed" errors in the BigFix Console.
Current Status & Workaround
Our engineering team is investigating the change to determine the best path forward for the plugin's authentication logic. In the meantime, please consider the following:
-
Manual Downloads: For urgent patching requirements, you may need to manually download the files from the IBM Support portal and use the BigFix Download Cacher or manually move the files into the BigFix Server's
sha1cache folder. -
Other AIX Packages: Please note that this issue currently appears limited to packages requiring this specific IBM login (primarily OpenSSH and OpenSSL). Other AIX updates that do not require this level of authentication should continue to function as expected.
We understand the inconvenience this causes for your AIX patching workflows and will provide updates to this thread as soon as a fix or a more streamlined workaround becomes available.
BigFix Patch Team