Cabbie

Overview

Cabbie is a standalone Go binary that utilizes the Windows Update Agent API to search, download, and install Windows Updates. Cabbie can be configured to connect to the public Windows Updates or to a local WSUS server.

The cabbie client has multiple flags, subcommands and subcommand arguments. For an up-to-date list type cabbie help which will list command help.

Similarly, cabbie flags will show available flags.

Getting Started

Pre-compiled binaries are available as release assets.

Building Cabbie manually:

1. Clone the repository
2. Install any missing imports with go get -u
3. Run go build C:\Path\to\cabbie\src

Configuration Options

These options can be configured using the registry key at HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Google\Cabbie

Setting	Registry Type	Default Setting	Description
------------------	-------------	------------------	------------------
WSUSServers	REG_MULTI_SZ	nil	List of WSUS servers to connect to instead of Microsoft updates.
RequiredCategories	REG_MULTI_SZ	Critical Updates Definition Updates Security Updates	List of Update categories that an update must contain at least one of to be automatically installed.
UpdateDrivers	REG_DWORD	0	Allow Cabbie to install available drivers.
UpdateVirusDef	REG_DWORD	1	Allow Cabbie to install updated virus definitions every 30 minutes.
EnableThirdParty	REG_DWORD	0	Allow Cabbie to check for third party software updates such off MSFT Office and Adobe.
RebootDelay	REG_DWORD	21600	Time in seconds for Cabbie to wait before force rebooting a machine to finalize update installation.
Deadline	REG_DWORD	14	Number of days before Cabbie will force install an available update that matches the required categories. Set to "0" to disable this option.
NotifyAvailable	REG_DWORD	1	If enabled Cabbie will send a notification when new required updates are available to be installed.
AukeraEnabled	REG_DWORD	0	Enable Cabbie to use the open source Aukera maintenance window manager.
AukeraPort	REG_DWORD	9119	LocalHost port to check against for Aukera maintenance windows.
AukeraName	REG_SZ	Cabbie	Aukera maintenance window label to query for to determine if a maintenance window is currently open.
ScriptTimeout	REG_DWORD	10	Pre/Post Update script timeout in minutes.

Pre/Post Update script execution

Cabbie has the ability to run predefined scripts before and after each Windows update install session. Each script is executed with a configurable timeout (default 10 minutes) and will be automatically stopped if the timeout is reached.

The scripts will need to be PowerShell scripts named PreUpdate.ps1 and/or PostUpdate.ps1 located in the Cabbie root directory (C:\Program Files\Google\Cabbie).

PreUpdate.ps1: This script will be executed once before the fist update in the collection is download and installed.

PostUpdate.ps1: This script will be executed after the last update in the collection is installed.

Command-line Usage

cabbie.exe <flags> <subcommand> <subcommand args>

List

Queries Microsoft for Windows Updates that are available to the device.

cabbie list

Install

Searches, downloads, and installs updates from Microsoft or a configured local WSUS.

Install all required updates (Default: security and critical updates):

cabbie install

Update available drivers:

cabbie install -drivers

Update virus definitions:

cabbie install -virus_def

Install specific update KBs:

cabbie install -kbs="1234513,98765432"

Install all applicable updates:

cabbie install -all

History

Retrieves the recorded history of installed updates.

cabbie history

Hide

Hides or unhides an update from installation.

Hide a KB:

cabbie hide --kbs="1234513"

Make an update available for install:

cabbie hide --unhide --kbs="1234513"

Service

Manage the installation status of the Cabbie service.

Install Cabbie service:

cabbie service --install

Uninstall Cabbie service:

cabbie service --uninstall

Service Usage

Cabbie can run as a Windows Service to enable constant update and reboot management.

The basic steps to install the Cabbie service:

1. Compile the Cabbie binary using go build C:\Path\to\cabbie\src.
2. Copy the built cabbie.exe binary to the folder C:\Program Files\Google\Cabbie.
3. From that folder, run .\cabbie.exe service --install

Cabbie service will now run as a service on that machine and check for updates using the configuration options above.

Enforcement Files

Cabbie enforcement files allow administrators to enforce specific update policies on a per-device basis. Enforcement files use JSON format, and can be written and maintained using any configuration management stack. Enforcements are particularly useful when deploying Cabbie as a service.

To create an enforcement, place a json file (ending in .json) under the Cabbie ProgramData directory (C:\ProgramData\Cabbie).

Required updates can be designated as a list of zero or more KB article strings under the required key. To hide an update from cabbie, place the KB article string under the hidden key or use the Update ID under the hidden-UpdateID key.

Example:

{
  "required": [
    "123456"
  ],
  "hidden": [
    "456789"
  ],
  "hidden-UpdateID": [
    "1234ccd5-1234-456f-78gh-ij2911553881"
  ]
}

Using a Maintenance Window

You can define a maintenance window for Cabbie to follow by installing and configuring the aukera service. Once configured, update the Cabbie registry options to AukeraEnabled= 1 and restart the Cabbie service.

Example Aukera Config

{
  "Windows": [
    {
      "Name": "Default Cabbie maintenance Window",
      "Format": 1,
      "Schedule": "0 40 10 * * THU",
      "Duration": "6h",
      "Starts": null,
      "Expires": null,
      "Labels": ["cabbie"]
    }
  ]
}

Disclaimer

Cabbie is maintained by a small team at Google. Support for this repo is treated as best effort, and issues will be responded to as engineering time permits.

This is not an official Google product.