How To Apply Updates Automatically With yum-cron In RHEL 7 / CentOS 7

NOTE:
RHEL 7 and CentOS 7 are EOL on 2024-06-30

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OVERVIEW

Applying updates regularly should be the top priority in the day-to-day tasks of a System administrator. Running unpatched systems for a long time is quite risky.
There are many ways to patch your Linux systems.
Today, we will learn how to apply updates automatically with yum-cron in RHEL 7 and CentOS 7.

RHEL 7.x and CentOS 7.x versions are still being widely used.
If you’re using RHEL/CentOS 7.x version, you can use yum-cron to enable automatic updates.

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REQUIREMENTS

Before you start, you will need:

• SSH credentials or File Manager access Logged In as Root
• Text Editor (we use nano in this article, but you can use any editor you are comfortable with)

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READ ME FIRST

This article is provided as a courtesy.
Installing, configuring, and troubleshooting third-party applications is outside the scope of basic support provided by Starburst Services.

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INSTRUCTIONS

STEP 1

To install yum-cron in RHEL 7.x and CentOS 7.x, run:

yum install yum-cron

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STEP 2

After installing yum-cron, edit its default configuration file /etc/yum/yum-cron.conf:

nano /etc/yum/yum-cron.conf

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STEP 3

Adjust and set the configurations as needed:

update_cmd = security
update_messages = no
download_updates = yes
apply_updates = yes

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STEP 4

Finally, enable the service to apply the settings:

systemctl enable --now yum-cron

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KB Article Created: 2024-02-26