How to find latest Patch in oracle

Critical Patch Update (CPU) Program Jul 2020 Patch Availability Document (PAD)

Document ID: 2664876.1 (Available on My Oracle Support - MOS)

Overview

The Oracle Critical Patch Update (CPU) Program provides quarterly cumulative patches to address security vulnerabilities across various Oracle products. These patches are crucial for maintaining the security and stability of Oracle environments.

The Critical Patch Update (CPU) Program Jul 2020 Patch Availability Document (PAD) (Doc ID 2664876.1) specifically outlines the patches and minimum release requirements for the Critical Patch Updates (CPUs) and Patch Set Updates (PSUs) released on July 14, 2020.

Purpose and Scope

• Purpose: This document defines the specific patches and minimum releases for the various Oracle product suites that received updates in the July 2020 CPU. This includes, but is not limited to:

  • Oracle Database Product Suite

  • Fusion Middleware Product Suite

  • Exalogic

  • Enterprise Manager Suite

• Scope: This document is primarily intended for Database Administrators and other IT professionals responsible for applying quarterly security patches to Oracle systems.

Key Information in the PAD

The PAD (Doc ID 2664876.1) typically provides detailed information, including:

• Affected Products and Versions: A comprehensive list of all Oracle products and their specific versions impacted by the July 2020 CPU.

• Patch Numbers: The actual patch numbers (e.g., for Release Updates, Release Update Revisions, Bundle Patches, or PSUs) that need to be applied.

• Dependencies and Prerequisites: Information on any prerequisite patches or minimum OPatch versions required before applying the July 2020 CPU.

• Error Correction Information: Details on the final CPU program patch for products that have reached the end of their error correction support.

• Modification History: As PADs are often updated, a modification history section tracks changes made to the document after its initial release.

Importance of Applying CPUs

Oracle strongly recommends that customers remain on actively supported versions of their products and apply Critical Patch Update security patches without delay. This is because these updates address vulnerabilities that could potentially be exploited maliciously, even if Oracle has already released patches for them.

Note: To access the full content of Doc ID 2664876.1, you must have a valid support contract with Oracle and log in to My Oracle Support (support.oracle.com).

what you mean by 11.2.0.3.0 (Major release.release.app release #.patch set.PSU)

11.2.0.3.0 : The first digit  is the major release number.  When we say 9i, 10g or 11g we mean the major release number

11.2.0.3.0 : This second digit is the maintenance release number. This is usually called only "release". For example when you say 11g Release 1 or 11g Release 2 in fact you are mentioning maintenance release number. Maintenance releases are full installations. It means that all files are replaced during upgrade. Maintenance releases contain bug fixes and new features for database.

11.2.0.3.0 : This third digit is the release number for Oracle application servers.  For database software, it should be 0.

11.2.0.3.0 : The fourth digit is called component specific release number. It shows the patch set version that has been applied to database. As of 11g, the patch sets are now full installations. They contain bug fixes and add new features to database. However the number of new features is not as high as maintenance releases'. Its scope is limited. This bugs fixed with this patch set are not listed here because applying a patchset is a full installation.

11.2.0.3.0 :The last digit is called platform specific release number. Patch set updates use this fifth number. A patch set update (PSU) is a collection of patches distributed 4 times a year by Oracle (every 3 months). They contain patches for most common bugs and security holes. They don't add a new feature to database. They are not full installations. Only faulty files on your database are replaced. Oracle recommends installing patch sets even if you haven't hit any of the bugs fixed in those patch sets

if you want check the CPU patch is whether rolling support or not

To check if a CPU patch supports rolling upgrades, you need to use the opatch query -all command. This command provides detailed information about the patches applied to your Oracle Home.

Here's the SOP:

Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to Check if a CPU Patch Supports Rolling Upgrade:

1. Log in to the Oracle Server: Connect to the server where your Oracle database software is installed, using the oracle user or an account with appropriate permissions to run opatch.

2. Set Oracle Environment: Ensure your ORACLE_HOME and PATH are correctly set for the Oracle Home you want to check. You can use the oraenv utility for this:

   . oraenv
   

   (Enter the ORACLE_SID associated with the ORACLE_HOME you're interested in, or set ORAENV_ASK=N and ORACLE_SID before running).

3. Execute opatch query -all: Run the opatch command with the -all option.

   opatch query -all
   

4. Review the Output: In the output generated by opatch query -all, look for a line that explicitly states whether the patch is a rolling patch or not.

   You will find a line similar to this:

   Patch is a rolling patch: true
   

   or

   Patch is a rolling patch: false
   

   • If the value is true, then the CPU patch supports rolling upgrades.
   • If the value is false, then the CPU patch does not support rolling upgrades, and a full cluster shutdown might be required for patching.

This line is the definitive indicator within the opatch output for rolling patch support.