Docs for schema item AffectedType in Open Vulnerability and Assessment Language (OVAL®)

Each OVAL Definition is written to evaluate a certain type of system(s). The family, platform(s), and product(s) of this target are described by the AffectedType whose main purpose is to provide hints for tools using OVAL Definitions. For instance, to help a reporting tool only use Windows definitions, or to preselect only Red Hat definitions to be evaluated. Note, the inclusion of a particular platform or product does not mean the definition is physically checking for the existence of the platform or product. For the actual test to be performed, the correct test must still be included in the definition's criteria section. The AffectedType complex type details the specific system, application, subsystem, library, etc. for which a definition has been written. If a definition is not tied to a specific product, then this element should not be included. The absence of the platform or product element can be thought of as definition applying to all platforms or products. The inclusion of a particular platform or product does not mean the definition is physically checking for the existence of the platform or product. For the actual test to be performed, the correct test must still be included in the definition's criteria section. To increase the utility of this element, care should be taken when assigning and using strings for product names. The schema places no restrictions on the values that can be assigned, potentially leading to many different representations of the same value. For example 'Internet Explorer' and 'IE'. The current convention is to fully spell out all terms, and avoid the use of abbreviations at all costs. Please note that the AffectedType will change in future versions of OVAL in order to support the Common Platform Enumeration (CPE).

<xsd:complexType name="AffectedType"> <xsd:annotation> <xsd:documentation>Each OVAL Definition is written to evaluate a certain type of system(s). The family, platform(s), and product(s) of this target are described by the AffectedType whose main purpose is to provide hints for tools using OVAL Definitions. For instance, to help a reporting tool only use Windows definitions, or to preselect only Red Hat definitions to be evaluated. Note, the inclusion of a particular platform or product does not mean the definition is physically checking for the existence of the platform or product. For the actual test to be performed, the correct test must still be included in the definition's criteria section.</xsd:documentation> <xsd:documentation>The AffectedType complex type details the specific system, application, subsystem, library, etc. for which a definition has been written. If a definition is not tied to a specific product, then this element should not be included. The absence of the platform or product element can be thought of as definition applying to all platforms or products. The inclusion of a particular platform or product does not mean the definition is physically checking for the existence of the platform or product. For the actual test to be performed, the correct test must still be included in the definition's criteria section. To increase the utility of this element, care should be taken when assigning and using strings for product names. The schema places no restrictions on the values that can be assigned, potentially leading to many different representations of the same value. For example 'Internet Explorer' and 'IE'. The current convention is to fully spell out all terms, and avoid the use of abbreviations at all costs.</xsd:documentation> <xsd:documentation>Please note that the AffectedType will change in future versions of OVAL in order to support the Common Platform Enumeration (CPE).</xsd:documentation> </xsd:annotation> <xsd:sequence> <xsd:element name="platform" type="xsd:string" minOccurs="0" maxOccurs="unbounded" /> <xsd:element name="product" type="xsd:string" minOccurs="0" maxOccurs="unbounded" /> </xsd:sequence> <xsd:attribute name="family" type="oval:FamilyEnumeration" use="required" /> </xsd:complexType>

Definition Type:	ComplexType
Name:	AffectedType
Namespace:	http://oval.mitre.org/XMLSchema/oval-definitions-5
Containing Schema:	oval-definitions-schema.xsd
Abstract
Documentation:	Each OVAL Definition is written to evaluate a certain type of system(s). The family, platform(s), and product(s) of this target are described by the AffectedType whose main purpose is to provide hints for tools using OVAL Definitions. For instance, to help a reporting tool only use Windows definitions, or to preselect only Red Hat definitions to be evaluated. Note, the inclusion of a particular platform or product does not mean the definition is physically checking for the existence of the platform or product. For the actual test to be performed, the correct test must still be included in the definition's criteria section. The AffectedType complex type details the specific system, application, subsystem, library, etc. for which a definition has been written. If a definition is not tied to a specific product, then this element should not be included. The absence of the platform or product element can be thought of as definition applying to all platforms or products. The inclusion of a particular platform or product does not mean the definition is physically checking for the existence of the platform or product. For the actual test to be performed, the correct test must still be included in the definition's criteria section. To increase the utility of this element, care should be taken when assigning and using strings for product names. The schema places no restrictions on the values that can be assigned, potentially leading to many different representations of the same value. For example 'Internet Explorer' and 'IE'. The current convention is to fully spell out all terms, and avoid the use of abbreviations at all costs. Please note that the AffectedType will change in future versions of OVAL in order to support the Common Platform Enumeration (CPE).

Derivation Tree:
	*AffectedType* oval-def:affected

References:
	oval-def:affected