Cloud Agent for Linux Intel Release 7.5
September 03, 2026 (Updated September 10, 2026)
Cloud Agent for Linux Intel 7.5 adds on-demand scan request tracking, Database Authentication for UDC manifests, exponential backoff for retries, along with fixes for log collection, RAP schedules, Cloud Agent Scans, and startup delays.
Track On-Demand Scan Progress in Cloud Agent UI
Cloud Agent for Linux now supports tracking On-Demand Scan requests. This enhancement provides better visibility into the status and results of on-demand scans triggered from the Cloud Agent user interface or the command line.
Currently, Cloud Agent only supports tracking On-Demand Scan requests for Vulnerability scans.
To track on-demand scan requests, navigate to the Agent Management > Requests tab in Cloud Agent user interface. To learn more about the Requests tab, refer to Track Requests in Cloud Agent.
| Required Application Version | Cloud Agent Application 2.8.0 |
Authenticate Database for UDC Manifests
Cloud Agent for Linux now supports Database Authentication for User Defined Controls (UDC) manifests generated for auto-discovered middleware instances. Database Authentication support for UDC middleware enables seamless onboarding of auto-discovered middleware instances and automated application of technology controls for improved security and operational efficiency.
An auto-discovery scan detects a middleware instance, and the corresponding technology controls are present in the Policy Audit (PA) user interface.
The PA application must be activated for your account to use Database Authentication for UDC manifests.
Reduce Redundant Requests with Exponential Backoff
Cloud Agent for Linux now applies an exponential backoff mechanism when it retries requests to the Qualys platform, reducing redundant requests to the Qualys platform and network traffic from retried requests. Instead of retrying at a fixed interval, Cloud Agent progressively increases the wait time between successive retry attempts.
This enhancement reduces redundant requests to the Qualys platform during transient connectivity issues and helps reduce unnecessary network traffic from repeated retry attempts.
The Exponential Backoff feature is currently supported only for Cloud Agent binaries. The other secondary binaries do not use exponential backoff when retrying a connection to the Qualys platform.
| Required Agent Version | Cloud Agent for Linux 7.5.0 |
Launch On-Demand Scans for Middleware Assets
Cloud Agent for Linux Intel now supports On-Demand Scan for the Middleware assets. You can now immediately scan the middleware assets without waiting for the next scheduled scan. This enhancement gives you instant visibility to the security threats and risks for middleware assets.
Previously, Cloud Agent did not support on-demand scans for middleware assets, so you had to wait until the next scheduled scan to know their security posture.
Run the following command to launch an on-demand scan for middleware assets:
Command to run the On-Demand Scan for Middleware Assets
/usr/local/qualys/cloud-agent/bin/cloudagentctl.sh type=middlewarepc action=demand
Currently, the on-demand scan for middleware assets can only be launched via the command-line interface.
Behavior Changes
There are no behavior changes in this release.
Platform Coverage Support
No new platform coverage is added in this release.
Issues Addressed
The following important and notable customer issues are fixed in this release.
| Category/Component | Description |
|---|---|
| Remote Log Collection | Fixed an issue where the Cloud Agent user interface (CAUI) did not reflect the correct status for Remote Log Collection. Cloud Agent now sends the correct status to CAUI after Remote Log Collection is complete, and correct status is displayed on the user interface. |
| Reduced Activity Period | Fixed an issue where Reduce Activity Period (RAP) schedules were not reset after a RAP was fully removed, causing stale reduced activity windows to persist and execute scans after an agent restart. Cloud Agent now resets RAP schedules when RAP is fully removed or disabled, and avoids unnecessary scans. |
| Agent Startup | Fixed an issue where Cloud Agent startup took considerably more time on non-cloud systems because the cloud provider metadata request had no connection timeout. Cloud Agent now has a thirty-second connection timeout for the cloud provider metadata request. This has considerably reduced the Cloud Agent startup time. |
| Cloud Agent Scans | Fixed an issue where cloud provider metadata retrieval failed for inventory scans and Cloud Agent on systems without a system curl installation. Cloud Agent now completes the scans successfully by using the system curl and bundled qualys-curl as alternatives. |