Oracle has taken a cue from Microsoft and started giving its customers an early warning of what they can expect from upcoming security patch releases.
On Thursday, Oracle published its first-ever Critical Patch Update Pre-Release Announcement detailing what it plans to fix in its next set of patches, which is due Tuesday.
The advance notification will make it easier for Oracle's customers to plan their week ahead, said Darius Wiles, senior manager of Oracle Security Alerts.
Oracle has been criticized for overwhelming customers with a confusing barrage of security updates, and over the past few months, it has taken steps to make it easier for users to understand which of its patches are most urgent.
Last October, Oracle began simplifying its vulnerability reporting and rating its bugs according to the Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS), also used in Cisco Systems security advisories. CVSS is intended to standardize the way security flaws are rated.
Oracle gives this month's updates a total CVSS rating of 7.0. Though the most severe CVSS rating possible is 10, a rating of 7.0 is the highest that Oracle would normally rate its patches because Oracle flaws do not generally affect the underlying operating system, Wiles said.
"I would certainly recommend customers apply the patches if they are using systems that are affected," he said.
Like Microsoft, Oracle releases security patches on a regular schedule, but Oracle's updates contain more patches and are far less frequent. They are released once every quarter; Microsoft's come out once a month.
Oracle's Jan. 16 updates for this quarter will include 52 patches for Oracle Database, Application Server, Enterprise Manager, Identity Management, E-Business Suite, Developer Suite, and the PeopleSoft Enterprise People Tools.
The majority of these patches will be for Oracle's database software, which will receive 27 fixes in all. Ten of these bugs "may be exploited over a network without the need for a username and password," Oracle said in its pre-release announcement.
This whitepaper explains the terminology and concepts behind Data Replication technologies and establishes some sizing rules through worked examples. Learn the new paradigm in disaster tolerance—protect data anywhere.
Download now »
Server virtualization is a popular option for dealing with mounting datacenter costs. Another equally promising approach is the use of an Application Delivery Controller. Citrix NetScaler provides a low-cost way for organizations to reduce their server count and accrue cost savings from a reduction in space, cooling, power and personnel.
Download now »
The emergence of WLANs has created a new breed of security threats to enterprise networks.
Included in HP ProCurve WLAN solutions is security technology that alleviates threats from WLANs through:
* Monitoring wireless activity inside and out of the enterprise
* Classifying WLAN transmissions into harmful and harmless
* Preventing transmissions that pose a security threat to the enterprise network
* Locating participating devices for physical remediation
Effectively address data protection challenges, implementing solutions that help store and protect business–critical data while cutting costs and improving efficiency and reliability.
Download now »
Sign up to receive Security Resource Alerts
This white paper provides guidance on how to develop a strategic approach to managing and monitoring logs, a key function required for compliance with many regulatory mandates and a critical defense against security threats.
Download now! »
Learn about the processes and technologies that support security information management (SIM) operations, as well as the business case for SIM. The series examines different options for implementing SIM and gives you evaluation criteria for selecting the best option for your organization.
Download now! »
Learn the strategies, actions, and capabilities that Best-in-Class organizations employ and technologies they choose to obtain superior performance against various security performance metrics. This report provides guidelines for identifying which security solutions to consume as a MSS and defines best practices for choosing and managing MSSPs.
Download now! »
1 Recommendation
