Critical Patch Updates

Critical Patch Updates provide security patches for supported Oracle on-premises products. They are available to customers with valid support contracts. Starting in April 2022, Critical Patch Updates are released on the third Tuesday of January, April, July, and October (They were previously published on the Tuesday closest to the 17th day of January, April, July, and October).

Find the Next Four Dates from following Link

https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts

Introduction to Oracle Database Patch Maintenance

One of the duties of a DBA is to maintain the Oracle Database software. There are two maintenance strategies.

Reactive Patches react to specific maintenance issues. They are characterized as follows:

• Usually delivered as “Interim Patches”
• Historically known as “one-off” patches
• Are provided on demand for a given “defect, version, platform” combination
• Go through basic sanity tests
• Certain reactive fixes may be included in future Release Updates

Proactive Patches provide recommended updates for all Oracle Database customers. They are characterized as follows:

Are available as Release Updates (RU) and Monthly Recommended Patches (MRPs)

Download Patches :

Address high impact bugs that affect a given configuration

Contain proven low risk fixes

Include cumulative of prior fixes

Go through extra levels of testing, determined by the features affected by the patch

Are available on “My Oracle Support” by clicking on the “Patches & Updates” tab

https://support.oracle.com

Note: required CSID Approved from Account Manager

Downloading and Installing Patches

Learn how to download and install patches.

Check the My Oracle Support website for required patch updates for your installation.

To download required patches:

1. Use a web browser to view the My Oracle Support website:https://support.oracle.com/
2. Sign in to My Oracle Support.Note:If you are not a My Oracle Support registered user, click Register here and follow the registration instructions.
3. On the main My Oracle Support page, click the Patches & Updates tab.
4. In the Patch Search group, select Product or Family (Advanced).
5. In the Product field, select Oracle Database.
6. In the Release field select one or more release numbers.
7. Click Search.
8. Any available patch updates are displayed in the Patch Search page.
9. Select the patch number and click ReadMe. The README page displays and contains information about the patch set and how to apply the patches to your installation.
10. Return to the Patch Search page, click Download, and save the file on your system.
11. Use the unzip utility provided with Oracle Database 12c to uncompress the Oracle patch updates that you downloaded from My Oracle Support. The unzip utility is located in the $ORACLE_HOME/bin directory.

Downloading Release Update Patches

Download and install Release Updates (RU) and Monthly Recommended Patches (MRPs) patches for your Oracle software after you complete your installation.

Oracle provides quarterly updates in the form of Release Updates (RU) and Monthly Recommended Patches (MRPs). Oracle no longer releases patch sets. For more information, see My Oracle Support Note 2285040.1.

Check the My Oracle Support website for required updates for your installation.

1. Log in to the My Oracle Support website:https://support.oracle.comNote:If you are not a My Oracle Support registered user, then click Register for My Oracle Support and register.
2. On the main My Oracle Support page, click Patches & Updates.
3. In the Patch Search region, select Product or Family (Advanced).
4. On the Product or Family (Advanced) display, provide information about the product, release, and platform for which you want to obtain patches, and click Search.The Patch Search pane opens, displaying the results of your search.
5. Select the patch number and click ReadMe.The README page is displayed. It contains information about the patch and how to apply the patches to your installation.
6. Uncompress the Oracle patch updates that you downloaded from My Oracle Support.