Concelier Astra Linux Connector - Operations Runbook
Last updated: 2026-02-09
1. Overview
The Astra Linux connector ingests security advisories from the Astra Linux OVAL database and maps them to canonical Advisory records for use in policy decisions and vulnerability management.
1.1 Data Source
- Format: OVAL XML (Open Vulnerability and Assessment Language)
- Source: Astra Linux official OVAL repository
- Coverage: Astra Linux SE (Special Edition) packages
- Versioning: Debian EVR (Epoch:Version-Release) format
1.2 Trust Vector
| Dimension |
Score |
Rationale |
| Provenance |
0.95 |
Official FSTEC-certified source, government-backed |
| Coverage |
0.90 |
Comprehensive for Astra-specific packages |
| Replayability |
0.85 |
OVAL XML is structured and deterministic |
2. Authentication
- No authentication required for public OVAL feeds.
- Mirror deployments may require access controls configured at the mirror level.
3. Configuration (concelier.yaml)
3.1 Configuration Options
| Option |
Default |
Description |
bulletinBaseUri |
- |
Base URL for Astra security bulletin pages |
ovalRepositoryUri |
- |
Base URL for OVAL database downloads |
maxDefinitionsPerFetch |
100 |
Maximum definitions to process per fetch cycle |
requestTimeout |
2 min |
HTTP request timeout for OVAL downloads |
requestDelay |
500ms |
Delay between requests to avoid rate limiting |
failureBackoff |
15 min |
Backoff period after fetch failures |
initialBackfill |
365 days |
How far back to look on initial sync |
resumeOverlap |
7 days |
Overlap window when resuming after interruption |
4. OVAL Parsing Pipeline
4.1 Pipeline Stages
- Fetch: Download OVAL XML database from repository
- Parse: Extract vulnerability definitions, tests, objects, and states
- Map: Convert OVAL definitions to canonical Advisory records
4.2 OVAL Structure Mapping
| OVAL Element |
Advisory Field |
Notes |
definition/@id |
fallback advisoryKey |
Used when no CVE ID present |
definition/metadata/title |
title |
|
definition/metadata/description |
description |
|
definition/metadata/reference[@source='CVE']/@ref_id |
advisoryKey, aliases |
First CVE is key, rest are aliases |
definition/metadata/advisory/severity |
severity |
|
definition/metadata/advisory/issued/@date |
published |
|
dpkginfo_object/name |
AffectedPackage.identifier |
|
dpkginfo_state/evr |
AffectedVersionRange |
Version constraints |
4.3 Version Comparison
- Astra Linux is Debian-based and uses Debian EVR (Epoch:Version-Release) versioning
- Version ranges use
rangeKind: evr in the canonical model
- Comparison follows dpkg version comparison rules
5. Offline and Air-gapped Deployments
5.1 Mirror Setup
- Download OVAL databases:
astra-linux-1.7-oval.xml, etc.
- Place in offline mirror directory
- Update
ovalRepositoryUri to point to local mirror
5.2 Offline Kit Structure
5.3 Configuration for Offline
6. Common Failure Modes
6.1 Network Issues
| Symptom |
Cause |
Resolution |
| Timeout errors |
Large OVAL files |
Increase requestTimeout |
| Connection refused |
Regional blocking |
Use mirror or VPN |
| Certificate errors |
Proxy/firewall |
Configure trusted roots |
6.2 Parsing Errors
| Error |
Cause |
Resolution |
OvalParseException: Invalid OVAL document |
Wrong namespace or malformed XML |
Validate OVAL file manually |
| Empty definitions |
Missing definitions element |
Check file is complete |
| Missing packages |
No linked tests/objects/states |
Check OVAL structure |
6.3 Rate Limiting
- Default
requestDelay: 500ms should prevent rate limiting
- Increase delay if 429 errors occur
7. Monitoring and Alerting
7.1 Key Metrics
| Metric |
Alert Threshold |
Description |
concelier_fetch_duration_seconds{source="distro-astra"} |
> 300s |
Fetch taking too long |
concelier_parse_errors_total{source="distro-astra"} |
> 0 |
Parsing failures |
concelier_definitions_parsed{source="distro-astra"} |
< 10 |
Unusually few definitions |
7.2 Health Check
8. Evidence Artifacts
- Parsed OVAL definitions stored in
DtoStore
- Mapped advisories stored in
AdvisoryStore
- Provenance records include:
- Source:
distro-astra
- Kind:
oval-definition
- Original definition ID
9. Related Documentation