Oracle Plans To Patch 21 Security Holes Next Week

Oracle's January patch contains significantly fewer fixes than in previous quarters. In October, the company released 51 fixes; in July, it released 45.

Oracle (NSDQ: ORCL) plans to release a Critical Patch Update for its products on Jan. 15. The patch corrects vulnerabilities in multiple Oracle products.

Oracle said Thursday it plans to release 27 security fixes for its business software, including Oracle Database, Oracle Application Server, Oracle Collaboration Suite, Oracle E-Business Suite, Oracle Enterprise Manager Grid Control, Oracle PeopleSoft Enterprise PeopleTools, and Oracle PeopleSoft Enterprise Human Capital Management.

Oracle said there were no security fixes forthcoming for its JD Edwards products.

None of the Oracle Database vulnerabilities can be exploited remotely without authentication, meaning an attacker would have to be in possession of a valid user name and password to take advantage of the database flaws.

IT managers may be more concerned about the vulnerabilities in other products. Three of the seven fixes specific to the Oracle E-Business Suite may be exploited remotely, without authentication. One of the four fixes for Oracle's PeopleSoft products also may be exploited remotely, without authentication.

Oracle makes a habit of releasing security patches every three months. Its scheduled January patch contains significantly fewer fixes than in previous quarters. In October, the company released 51 fixes; in July, it released 45.

Security researchers like those with the SANS Institute have noted that attackers are looking for holes in corporate applications more than they had in the past. At the very least, security researchers are finding more such holes: Milw0rm.com, a site that catalogs published code exploits, posted 21 Oracle-related exploits in 2007, five in 2006, and three in 2005.

Author: Thomas Claburn @ www.informationweek.com

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