Oracle E-Business Suite

Error Correction Support Policy

Version 8: April 14, 2023

My Oracle Support Document 1195034.1
Oracle E-Business Suite Error Correction Support Policy

Table of Contents

Table of Contents .............................................................................. 1

1. About this Document.................................................................. 3
1.1. Products and Releases Covered by this Policy .................. 3
1.2. Relationship to Lifetime Support Policy .............................. 3
1.3. Change Log ....................................................................... 4
2. E-Business Suite Releases and Error Corrections ..................... 5
2.1. Methods for Delivering Error Corrections ........................... 5
2.2. Release Update Packs....................................................... 5
2.3. One-Off Patches ................................................................ 8
2.4. Critical Patch Updates...................................................... 12
3. Additional Patch Types ............................................................ 14
3.1. Legislative Updates .......................................................... 14
3.2. Consolidated Upgrade Patches ........................................ 14
3.3. High Priority Patches........................................................ 15
3.4. Enterprise Command Center Framework Patches ........... 15
4. Appendix A .............................................................................. 16
4.1. E-Business Suite Release 12.2 Minimum Prerequisites ... 16
4.2. E-Business Suite Release 12.1 Minimum Prerequisites ... 16
4.3. E-Business Suite Release 12.0 ........................................ 17
1. About this Document
Oracle provides bug fixes and legislative updates for the Oracle E-Business Suite
products as part of Premier and Extended Support, but not Sustaining Support. This
document explains the methods that are used to deliver bug fixes and legislative
updates and the policies associated with those methods.

1.1. Products and Releases Covered by this Policy

This document applies to E-Business Suite Releases 12.2, 12.1, and 12.0. This Error
Correction Policy covers products delivered as core features of the Oracle E-
Business Suite. It does not cover localizations provided by Oracle Consulting
Services. Note that some licensable products have multiple functional modules
associated with them. Those functional modules are also covered by this policy.

For products covered under Release 12.2, please refer to Document 1581299.1.

For products covered under Release 12.1, please refer to Document 790942.1.

Oracle E-Business Suite Release 12.0 is in Sustaining Support. Error correction

support is no longer available for this release.

For information about the Release 11.5.10 support policy, please refer to My Oracle
Support Document 883202.1, Minimum Baseline Patch Requirements for Extended
Support on Oracle E-Business Suite 11.5.10.

1.2. Relationship to Lifetime Support Policy

The Lifetime Support Policy describes, for all Oracle products, the duration of
support for major releases and the level of support that is delivered in each phase
of a product’s life. This Error Correction Policy document describes details about
how error corrections are delivered specifically for Oracle E-Business Suite products.

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1.3. Change Log
• 6/29/2010 (Version 1): Document created.

• 11/24/2010 (Version 2): Removed restrictions on providing patches for specific

Release Update Packs limited by grace periods. Added Section 4, “Minimum E-
Business Suite Patching Baselines and Support Stage Requirements.”

• 2/14/2011 (Version 3): Added final EBS 12.0 Minimum baseline patching
requirements to Section 4.2.1 for Extended Support.

• 3/28/2013 (Version 4): Removed references to “minimum patching baselines.”

Added new material for EBS base releases, Release Update Packs, Critical Patch
Updates, and one-off patches. Relaxed criteria for one-off patches from requiring
the suite-wide EBS 12.1.3 Release Update Pack to requiring only individual 12.1.3
Family Packs. Consolidated patching prerequisites into Appendix A.

• 1/27/2015 (Version 5): Added references to EBS 12.2. Added EBS 12.2 minimum
prerequisites to Appendix A.

• 6/3/2020 (Version 6): Added Section 3.4: Enterprise Command Center Framework
Patches.

• 12/22/2022 (Version 7): Updated Section 1.1 and Section 4.3 to indicate that
error correction support is no longer available for Release 12.0. Removed some
other references to Release 12.0 throughout document. Updated Section 4.1 to
add minimum prerequisite details that will be in effect for Release 12.2 as of July
1, 2024. Updated Section 4.2 to reference the Business Critical Fixes and Limited
Updates for Oracle E-Business Suite 12.1.3 offering.

• 4/14/2023 (Version 8): Updated Section 2.4.1 to clarify prerequisites for Critical
Patch Updates. Updated examples in Sections 2.2, 2.2.2, and 2.4.2. Updated list
of release versions for upgrades in Section 3.2.

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2. E-Business Suite Releases and Error Corrections
An Oracle E-Business Suite environment consists of a base release and subsequent
updates that deliver enhancements and fixes for stability, performance, and
security.

Base releases are used to create new E-Business Suite environments or upgrade
environments running older E-Business Suite releases. Base releases are
documented in Oracle Lifetime Support Policy: Oracle Applications and are eligible
for Premier, Extended, and Sustaining Support.

Examples of base releases:

• E-Business Suite Release 12.2

• E-Business Suite Release 12.1

2.1. Methods for Delivering Error Corrections

E-Business Suite Development provides updates to customers in between base
releases through a variety of methods, including:

1. Release Update Packs (RUPs)

2. One-off patches

3. Critical patch updates (CPUs)

More details about these different delivery methods are discussed below.

2.2. Release Update Packs

A Release Update Pack (RUP) is a consolidated, fully tested collection of updates
issued in between base releases. Release Update Packs can only be applied to an
existing E-Business Suite environment.

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Release Update Packs are the safest and most reliable way for you to get software
updates for a supported base release and are the cornerstone of a preventive
maintenance strategy.

Release Update Packs can include updates for all E-Business Suite product families;
these are sometimes called suite-wide Release Update Packs.

Release Update Packs may be released for a single product family, such as Oracle
Financials. These are sometimes called Family Packs.

Examples of suite-wide Release Update Packs that update all EBS products
simultaneously:

• Release Update Pack 12.2.11, 12.2.12

• Release Update Pack 12.1.3

Examples of Release Update Packs that update specific E-Business Suite product
families:

• Oracle Applications Technology 12.2.12 Release Update Pack

(R12.ATG_PF.C.Delta.11)

• Oracle Financials 12.2.12 Release Update Pack (R12.FIN_PF.C.delta.12)

• Oracle Human Resources 12.2.12 Release Update Pack (R12.HR_PF.C. delta.16)

2.2.1. Delivery of Release Update Packs to Customers

Release Update Packs are usually created at the product family level and
then “rolled up” into a single, consolidated suite-wide Release Update Pack
that is delivered via My Oracle Support. While Oracle recommends that all
customers apply the consolidated suite-wide Release Update Packs,
customers can apply individual product family Release Update Packs if that
option better suits their business requirements. A single product family

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 Release Update Pack may be released off cycle from the suite-wide Release
Update Pack releases.

2.2.2. Scope of Release Update Packs

Release Update Packs are cumulative for each base release and include:

• All software updates released in the prior Release Update Pack,

• Any one-off patches released until code freeze date for the current
Release Update Pack,

• Any legislative patches released until code freeze date for the current
Release Update Pack,

• Any critical patch updates released until code freeze date for the current
Release Update Pack, and

• Customer-requested new features and enhancements.

For example, suite-wide Release Update Pack 12.2.12 includes all software
updates, one-off patches, legislative updates, Critical Patch Updates, and
enhancements that were made available in the previous Release Update
Pack 12.2.11.

2.2.3. Testing on Release Update Packs

Thorough install and functional integration tests are conducted on Release
Update Packs, including a full suite of regression tests across all the
supported EBS platforms. As a best practice, Oracle recommends that
customers install each Release Update Pack on a test system that mirrors
their production system’s environment before installing in a production
system.

2.2.4. Porting of Release Update Packs

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 For a list of supported platforms, please refer to the Certify application on
My Oracle Support.

2.3. One-Off Patches

A one-off patch (also known as an "interim patch") is a bug fix (or set of fixes) made
available to customers who cannot wait until the next Release Update Pack or new
base release to get a fix. One-off patches deliver the latest version of the affected
files for a base release, plus all of the required dependencies.

2.3.1. Criteria for Considering One-Off Patch Requests

Oracle’s general approach will be to recommend that customers apply the
latest suite-wide or product family Release Update Pack available to obtain
fixes for reported issues. This is the best way to ensure that the fixes being
applied have been thoroughly tested together.

Any request for a new one-off patch should be accompanied by a case

showing a severe business and/or operational impact in order for Oracle to
consider the request. Oracle must also believe that it is technically feasible
to create a patch that does not jeopardize the stability of the customer’s
system. If a fix requires too much code to be changed, Oracle may
determine that the bug fix cannot be safely implemented as a one-off
patch.

Below are some of the business and operational impacts which should
accompany a request:

Customer Business Impact

• Severe system unavailability

• Inability to do normal business

• Significant risk to development or deployment schedule

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 Operational/Technical Impact

• Permanent data corruption (physical or logical)

• System hangs or crashes repeatedly

• Failure of critical functionality

• Severe performance regression

• No workaround available or inability to use workaround because of a

strong business / technical reason

2.3.2. Minimum Requirements for One-Off Patches

Oracle will create a new one-off patch by fixing the issue in the latest
version of the files maintained for the base release and delivering the
affected files along with any prerequisites required to make the patch
applicable to any customer running the base release.

From time to time, when Oracle observes that the vast majority of
customers have applied a particular suite-wide or product family Release
Update Pack or other critical patch, Oracle may establish that level of code
as a minimum prerequisite which newly-created patches and technology
certifications will require. This minimum prerequisite level is sometimes
referred to as the error correction baseline. This approach allows customers
receiving those new fixes to apply smaller patches that introduce less
complexity and allow for more focused testing at the customer site.

When such a minimum prerequisite level has been established, Oracle’s

standard practice will be to compute the prerequisites for a one-off patch
on the assumption that the customer has already applied the minimum
prerequisite level.

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 If a customer requests a one-off patch and has not applied the established
prerequisite levels on their system, Oracle will recommend that the
customer apply the established prerequisites.

See Appendix A for the latest minimum prerequisites.

Customers who use E-Business Suite modules that are subject to legislative
updates should see Section 3.1, “Legislative Updates.”

2.3.3. One-Off Patches without Minimum Prerequisites

In cases of urgent business need, Oracle will evaluate the feasibility of
creating one-off patches without the established minimum prerequisites.
Whether this is practical will vary depending upon the complexity of the
dependencies. If the patch is in an area of code that has undergone little
revision with few dependencies, it may be straightforward to produce one-
off patches without the established minimum prerequisites.

In most cases involving complex code objects, such as the major transaction
screens, it is likely that a full dependency analysis will show that a major
portion of the established minimum prerequisite code level is, in fact,
required to apply the patch. In these cases, Oracle will recommend that
customers minimize their risk by installing the established minimum
prerequisites. This is preferable to applying a new patch that includes all
the dependencies, and therefore is nearly as extensive as the minimum
prerequisite itself, but has not undergone the same level of testing.

2.3.4. Testing of One-Off Patches

A one-off patch is unit tested in isolation. One-off patches are not tested
with other one-off patches, and no system regression testing is done until it
is included in the next Release Update Pack. Because of this, it is highly
recommended that you install and perform basic testing on a test system
before installing a one-off patch in a production system.

2.3.5. Delivery of One-Off Patches to Customers Who Filed the Request

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 Depending upon the nature of the reported issue, a one-off patch may be
released exclusively to the customer(s) who reported the problem in
question. The patch may be released on My Oracle Support under
controlled distribution; only customers with a password will be able to
download the patch. Customers who are authorized to download the patch
will receive a password from their Support engineer.

2.3.6. Delivery of One-Off Patch to Other Customers

Depending upon the nature of the reported issue, customers other than the
filing customer(s) may not be able to download controlled patches from My
Oracle Support. There are two possible ways for other customers to get
one-off patches:

• In many cases, Oracle will make one-off patches generally available on

My Oracle Support after the filing customer has confirmed the fix. Not
all one-off patches are made generally available and it is up to Oracle’s
discretion whether or not to do so.

• In other cases, Oracle may determine that a patch requires additional

testing before making it available to other customers. If Oracle chooses
to keep a one-off patch under controlled release, then customers can log
a Service Request to request the ability to download it. Oracle will review
the suitability of the patch for the requesting customer and provide the
necessary access if appropriate.

2.3.7. One-Off Patches Included In Future Releases

One-off patches are generally included in the next Release Update Pack and
the next base release of the product. In cases where the one-off patch is
created too late in the development cycle of the current Release Update
Pack, it will be rolled into the following Release Update Pack.
Some one-off patches (e.g. scripts to fix damaged seed data, customer-
specific diagnostic scripts) may be created for temporary purposes or for
customer-specific data conditions. One-off patches unsuitable for general
use will not be included in future Release Update Packs.

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2.4. Critical Patch Updates
A critical patch update (CPU) is a collection of high priority security fixes
issued quarterly on the Tuesday closest to the 15th of the month. Critical
Patch Updates are built on top of specific Release Update Packs for all
versions of applicable Oracle products. No matter what patch set level
different customers are running, installing the Critical Patch Update brings
all customers to the same level of security bug fixes. The number of bug
fixes is relatively small (an order of magnitude less) compared to patch sets.
Critical Patch Updates are created for all E-Business Suite base releases in
Premier and Extended Support.

2.4.1 Prerequisites for Critical Patch Updates

While Oracle always recommends that customers maintain their systems at
the minimum prerequisite levels specified in Appendix A, Oracle will make
security fixes available for E-Business Suite Releases 12.2.3 and higher.

2.4.2. Scope of a Critical Patch Update

Critical Patch Updates contain new security fixes, fixes to any regressions
from previous Critical Patch Updates, plus all fixes from previous Critical
Patch Updates issued on any given patch set. Thus each new Critical Patch
Update on a particular patch set is cumulative. For example, the second
Critical Patch Update issued against E-Business Suite 12.2 contains all the
fixes from the first Critical Patch Update plus the new fixes.

Even though Oracle intends to primarily include security fixes in Critical

Patch Updates, we may on occasion include high-priority non-security fixes.

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2.4.3. Testing on a Critical Patch Update
Critical Patch Updates are tested extensively including install and functional
regression tests. As a best practice, Oracle recommends that customers
install each Critical Patch Update on a test system that mirrors their
production system’s environment before installing in a production system.

2.4.4. Critical Patch Update Notes

Each E-Business Suite Critical Patch Update contains a note with detailed
information about the Critical Patch Update including which patches apply
to which releases and how to apply the patches. Critical Patch Update
notes can be found at
https://www.oracle.com/technology/deploy/security/alerts.htm

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3. Additional Patch Types
3.1. Legislative Updates
Human Resources Management System (HRMS) and Financials Legislative Updates
are released as one-off patches as required to meet the requirements of regulatory
authorities. They are included in the next scheduled HRMS and Financials Release
Update Packs as determined by the code freeze date of the future Release Update
Pack.

The HRMS legislative one-off patches have HRMS Release Update Pack pre-
requisites as defined in the HRMS policy “Mandatory Family Pack levels for Oracle
Payroll. (Document 295406.1).” HRMS requires that if running Oracle Payroll (Fully
installed), Customers must adhere to the patching strategy as defined by above
note.

The scope of the legislative coverage of Oracle Payroll for delivered legislations
(known as Tier 1 localizations) remains at Oracle's discretion.

3.2. Consolidated Upgrade Patches

Consolidated upgrade patches deliver installation and upgrade fixes for customers
upgrading from 11i, 12.0, or 12.1. These are fixes that were identified after the
release of the upgrade and were often documented in the release notes. The fixes
include upgrade performance changes, fixes for script failures, and other script
changes provided to correct issues resulting from the upgrade. Customers that
have already upgraded to the latest release do not need to take the consolidated
upgrade patches, as the fixes are only useful for those going through the upgrade.

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3.3. High Priority Patches
Occasionally some products may designate a patch as “High Priority” or “Critical.”
Oracle highly recommends that all customers apply high priority patches due to the
potential severity of the problem or the likelihood that you may experience the
problem fixed by the patch.

3.4. Enterprise Command Center Framework Patches

Oracle Enterprise Command Center (ECC) Framework updates are designed to be
applied to current and older ECC releases without requiring modifications to the
shipped or modified ECC dashboards.

Occasionally, one-off ECC Framework patches may need to be released to fix critical
business, technical, or security issues. Oracle’s standard practice will be to provide
one-off ECC Framework patches based on the latest ECC Framework update.
Therefore, an ECC customer may be required to update their ECC Framework to the
latest release in order to consume a patch to fix their issue.

For the most up to date information regarding ECC Framework please refer to
Document 2495053.1.

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4. Appendix A
4.1. E-Business Suite Release 12.2 Minimum Prerequisites
The individual product family Release Update Packs at the following codelevels are
the minimum prerequisite levels for all E-Business Suite 12.2 one-off patches. One-
off patches will assume that the minimum prerequisite patches for the relevant
product have been applied, as described in Section 2.3.2, “Minimum Requirements
for One-Off Patches.”

Note that because Oracle Applications DBA (AD) and Oracle E-Business Suite
Technology Stack (TXK) are used for key install and patching operations, Oracle
recommends always utilizing the latest versions of these products. Accordingly, our
standard practice is to provide one-off patches for AD and TXK with the latest RUPs
as minimum prerequisites. For details about the latest AD and TXK RUPs, see
Document 1617461.1

PRODUCT FAMILY PROD/ID CURRENT MINIMUM MINIMUM PREREQUISITE

RELEASE UPDATE PACK PREREQUISITE PATCH PATCH AS OF JULY 1, 2024
All EBS Products EBS 12.2.3 EBS 12.2.7
(17020683 or equivalent (24690690 or equivalent
product family RUPs) product family RUPs)
Oracle Applications DBA and AD/166 and The latest version of the AD and TXK RUPs.
Oracle E-Business Suite TXK/1745
Technology Stack

4.2. E-Business Suite Release 12.1 Minimum Prerequisites

As of January 1, 2022, error correction support for E-Business Suite Release 12.1 is
available through the Business Critical Fixes and Limited Updates for Oracle E-
Business Suite 12.1.3 offering, also known as Market Driven Support. For more
information, see Oracle Market-Driven Support for Oracle E-Business Suite 12.1
(PDF).

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4.3. E-Business Suite Release 12.0
Release 12.0 entered Sustaining Support on February 1, 2015. Error correction
support is no longer available for this release.

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