Salt Extensions for Aria Automation Config: RedHat 9 Compliance Benchmark Error "Possible empty SLS file (after jinja)"

Products

• VCF Operations/Automation (formerly VMware Aria Suite)

Issue/Introduction

When running a RedHat 9 compliance benchmark scan in VMware Aria Automation Config, the job fails with the following error message: {Error} Possible empty SLS file (after jinja)

This error specifically impacts the following benchmark rule:

• 1.3.1.6 Ensure no unconfined services exist

Environment

• Operating System: Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 9.7
• Salt Version: 3006.18
• Salt Extensions (SSEAPE): 8.17.0.30

Cause

A product defect exists in Salt Extensions (SSEAPE) version 8.17.0.30. The compliance engine fails to properly render the Jinja template for the RHEL 9 benchmark rule regarding unconfined services, resulting in an empty SLS file error during execution.

Resolution

Engineering has released a fix for this defect in a newer version of the Salt Extensions.

To resolve this issue, upgrade the Salt Extensions (SSEAPE) to version 8.18.4 or higher.

Steps to Verify:

1. Perform the upgrade to SSEAPE 8.18.4.
2. Verify the version by running salt-call --versions on the affected system.
3. Navigate to the Aria Automation Config UI > Compliance.
4. Re-run the RedHat 9 compliance benchmark scan.
5. Confirm that rule 1.3.1.6 completes successfully without the Jinja