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.