fix

Why is the fix for bug nnn not included in any RU?

Christian asked this question today. Specifically, in his case for Bug 26749785 – PERF_DIAG: NEED TO HAVE MORE CONTROL IN DICTIONARY FOR AUTO_STATS_ADVISOR_TASK. Several of his customers suffer from this issue, and they repeatedly need to ask for backports or merge patches. I have seen this several times as well. Anyway, he is not only one who asked: Why is the fix for bug nnn not included in any RU?

Why is the fix for bug nnn not included in any RU?

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Inclusion criteria

In order to be able to include a bug fix into an MRP, CSPU or RU, it has to be …

ORA-600 [] and ORA-8103 errors can happen after TTS Import into 19c

This is not a new finding – and it is a very rare error. But you may only find it days, months or even years after a TTS migration has been completed. You may see a rare corruption issue, and it may sleep in your database. The error pattern would be: ORA-600 [<objdchk>] and ORA-8103 errors can happen after TTS Import into 19c when you query certain data sets. A customer of ours has encountered this a two years after an xTTS migration in an archival database. And since my team works with a lot of large migrations, I think

Upgrade to 26ai may hang due to block checking events

Posted on July 15, 2026 by Mike.Dietrich AutoUpgrade Flaws and Pitfalls Oracle AI Database 26ai Patch Recommendation 0

This issue is caused by an internal change, and we hit this now with two very large customer upgrades recently. Therefore, I would like to point to a fix, a workaround and the following RU in case you see your Upgrade to 26ai may hang due to block checking events.

Upgrade to 26ai may hang due to block checking events

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What would you see?

This issue can happen with cloning, PDB refreshable clones or just a copy or restore of your database for the subsequent upgrade to Oracle AI Database 26ai. It is not dependent on AutoUpgrade but since AutoUpgrade is the only …

Patch your databases against AI-enabled cybersecurity threats

Posted on May 4, 2026 by Mike.Dietrich Oracle AI Database 26ai Oracle Database 19c Patch Recommendation Security 35

I guess you all read the announcements and predictions over the past weeks. New AI models and improvements to existing models may allow to find security issues in existing software much quicker. While this sounds alarming on one side (yes, it does), it also enables software vendors to secure their software. But in order to benefit from it, you must patch your databases against AI-enabled cybersecurity threats.

Patch your databases against AI-enabled cybersecurity threats

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Read the official announcements

At first, please read the official announcements released here:

Accelerating Vulnerability Detection and Response at Oracle (3 min read – April 29,

OJVM patching fails with ORA-1403 in 19.30 if JAVAVM is not installed

Posted on February 12, 2026 by Mike.Dietrich Flaws and Pitfalls JVM Patch Recommendation 106

Thanks to all the people (Jeff, Daniele, Lothar and others) who alerted me about this topic. Some of you had even created their own fix already. So, this is about an issue which happens only if you have no JAVAVM installed in your database or PDB but you still apply the OJVM Bundle on to of the Oracle Database 19.30 Release Update. You may find then: OJVM patching fails with ORA-1403 in 19.30 if JAVAVM is not installed.

OJVM patching fails with ORA-1403 in 19.30 if JVM is not installed

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When does this happen?

This issue happens when you apply the OJVM bundle together with …

What has happened to the 19.29 and 19.30 RUs?

Posted on February 9, 2026 by Mike.Dietrich Flaws and Pitfalls Oracle Database 19c Patch Recommendation 44

Many of you mailed us asking why AutoUpgrade does not download 19.29 or 19.30 RUs anymore. Others just noticed that the RUs got pulled without further communication visible. And a few people informed me about an issue with the 19.30 RU when you don’t have OJVM configured but install the OJVM bundle. So, what has happened to the 19.29 and 19.30 RUs??

What has happened to the 19.29 and 19.30 RUs?

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Release Update 19.29 and 19.30

A fix for Bug 34352668 – LNX64-23.1-RAC: SVCB HIT ORA-600 [KCBGTCR_17] has been included into RUs 19.29 and 19.30 but unfortunately it could potentially cause a regression…

ORA-43907: Potential behavior change with Oracle RU 19.28.0

Posted on September 22, 2025 by Mike.Dietrich Behavior Change Oracle Database 19c Patch Recommendation 2

As I said multiple times, we have the best and most knowledgeable customers out there. Julian Frey is one of them, and there is a good and legit reason why he is an ACE Director since (I think) two years. Julian alerted me the other day about an ORA-43907: Potential behavior change with Oracle RU 19.28.0. And I guess, some of you would like to learn about this, too.

ORA-43907: Potential behavior change with Oracle RU 19.28.0

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What you may see?

Oracle Database 19c Release Update 19.28 contains a fix for Bug 36386077 – ORA-43907 NEEDS TO BE RAISED FOR CONVERSION …

Remember ORA-39405 with impdp? There is a fix for it

Posted on February 5, 2025 by Mike.Dietrich Autonomous Database - ADB Data Pump Time Zone - DST 4

Remember my blog post about time zone problems during import from one year ago? When you try to import into an Oracle database and your source database you exported from had a higher time zone (DST) patch level than the target, the impdp failed with ORA-39405 and stopped. In this blog post I showed several workarounds including some insane ones by Rodrigo and Kamil. And I’ve been contacted by customers and colleagues quite a few times asking for a general remedy.

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There is a fix for it

Spoiler – you can request a backport …

How long can I request a backport for Oracle Database RUs?

Posted on December 2, 2024 by Mike.Dietrich Patch Recommendation Release Schedule 0

I’ve had this topic on my “to write about” list for a long time. But somehow it felt through the cracks. Especially in relation to the recently announced extension of the Oracle Database 19c Premier and Extended Support periods it may be useful if you are aware of this policy since you may ask yourself: How long can I request a backport for Oracle Database RUs?

How long can I request a backport for Oracle Database RUs?

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What is a backport?

As we explain in Virtual Classroom Seminar – Episode 17: From SR to Patch – Insights into the Oracle Database Development process we fix …

Choose your desired time zone version (DST) upgrade

Posted on May 24, 2023 by Mike.Dietrich Time Zone - DST Transportable 18

This morning I received a very reasonable question from a customer who has a time zone mismatch between source and target database. And he wants to transport into a PDB on Exadata. Even though, this sounds trivial at first sight, unfortunately it isn’t. But a bug fix done recently for a German automotive customer is very handy here. So let me show you how you can Choose your desired time zone version (DST) upgrade.

Choose your desired time zone version (DST) upgrade

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Where does the problem start?

In this particular – and not unusual case – the customer wants to migrate …

Oracle Optimizer Statistics Advisor in Oracle 19c

Posted on February 28, 2023 by Mike.Dietrich Flaws and Pitfalls Optimizer Patch Recommendation 22

Christian Pfundtner pointed me to the fact that my old blog post about the Statistics Advisor from 2017 may not be up to date anymore. And he further pointed out that some of his clients still suffer from issues with the tool. Hence, let me refresh the topic with Oracle Optimizer Statistics Advisor in Oracle 19c. And thanks to Christian for the pointers.

Oracle Optimizer Statistics Advisor in Oracle 19c

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Overview

At first, I won’t rewrite the entire blog post but instead focus on recent findings. Therefore, you may please want to read my previous blog post about the …

ORA-13516 “CATPROC not valid” during datapatch or autoupgrade to 19.18.0

Posted on February 24, 2023 by Mike.Dietrich Flaws and Pitfalls Patch Recommendation 18

I thought I could relax this week using my leftover vacation days from 2022. But this issue is triggering me since some of you mailed me already. Maybe this blog post can prevent others from being trapped by this issue: ORA-13516 “CATPROC not valid” during datapatch or autoupgrade to 19.18.0. And as a prolog, you will NOT see the below issue when you started your database in NORMAL mode for the execution of datapatch.

ORA-13516 "CATPROC not valid" during datapatch or autoupgrade to 19.18.0

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What is the symptom?

Regardless of whether you patch to Oracle Database RU 19.18.0 manually or with …

Hide and Seek with RU 19.18.0

Posted on February 2, 2023 by Mike.Dietrich Flaws and Pitfalls Patch Recommendation 46

One and a half weeks ago we released the Database and Grid Infrastructure Release Updates (RU) 19.18.0. You could read on the blog how to apply it, and you could read also about an alert. So far, all was more or less transparent but apparently sort of an Hide and Seek with RU 19.18.0 has happened. So let me shed some light.

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Heads Up!

I am just the messenger trying to bring some light into the topic. Neither is our team responsible nor do we have any sort of control on this process. I …

Patching my environments with the January 2023 Bundle Patches

Posted on January 27, 2023 by Mike.Dietrich Patch Recommendation 30

Mid-of January. It’s patching time again. So let me show you the quarterly exercise of Patching my environments with the January 2023 Bundle Patches. Let’s see this time if I will have to remove my Data Pump Bundle Patch and the 19.17.0 MRP2 at first when I patch in-place.

Patching my environments with the January 2023 Bundle Patches

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As usual, an important annotation upfront: I patch in-place due to space issues. But in reality, you please patch always out-of-place with a separate home. Please see this blog post about how to apply the RU directly when you provision a new home with OUI…

Simple database installation with applyRU and applyOneOffs

Posted on May 17, 2022 by Mike.Dietrich Installation Patch Recommendation 33

Some of you may remember my blog post from April 22, 2021 about issues I saw with the unattended installation using applyRU and applyOneOffs switches. The installation failed with a strange jox error when I passed on the OJVM bundle to my installation queue. But there is relief – finally, after almost one year. So let me give you some background, and of course show you the workaround for the Simple database installation with applyRU and applyOneOffs.

Simple database installation with applyRU and applyOneOffs

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What has happened?

A longer while ago, we introduced the very convenient ability to install patches …

DBMS_OPTIM_BUNDLE and disabling another fix

Posted on August 11, 2021 by Mike.Dietrich Optimizer Patch Recommendation 8

Yes, DBMS_OPTIM_BUNDLE week it is. As I received so many good questions and input after my blog post whether you should enable _fix_controls with DBMS_OPTIM_BUNDLE or not, now I can easily fill the rest of the week with new content. Today it will be about a customer’s question regarding DBMS_OPTIM_BUNDLE and disabling another fix.

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Disabling another fix

The setup is pretty simple. Stefan wanted to disable a different fix while he had all fixes from the most recent RU enabled on purpose. Sounds simple but has a dangerous pitfall.

This is what …

ORA-1422 and ORA-6512 from SYS.DBMS_STATS in Post Upgrade

Posted on May 4, 2021 by Mike.Dietrich Optimizer Patch Recommendation 3

Ernst Leber sent me an email today. He hit an error at a customer upgrading to Oracle 19.9.0 on Exadata with AutoUpgrade. ORA-1422 and ORA-6512 from SYS.DBMS_STATS in Post Upgrade were signaled – and he better flashed back to the Guaranteed Restore Point. He found even a MOS note but still had questions. So time to blog about it in case you hit this error sequence as well.

ORA-1422 and ORA-6512 from SYS.DBMS_STATS in Post Upgrade Phase

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What happens, and when does it happen?

At first, this is not an AutoUpgrade issue. You may see the same error stack in the post upgrade …

You may need a one-off for DBMS_OPTIM_BUNDLE in 19.10.0

Posted on February 1, 2021 by Mike.Dietrich Optimizer Patch Recommendation 22

It’s been a while since I blogged about the DBMS_OPTIM_BUNDLE – and to me, the package is still sort of a mystery. Ideally you can least and enable or disable behavior changing optimizer fixes per RU. And in Oracle 19.10.0, you will find a new surprise. So You may need a one-off for DBMS_OPTIM_BUNDLE in 19.10.0.

You may need a one-off for DBMS_OPTIM_BUNDLE in 19.10.0

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Quick Recap

Just in case you haven’t dealt with DBMS_OPTIM_BUNDLE yet or for a while, a quick recap.

With this procedure, you can list the available patches to turn on or off at will:

SQL> set serveroutput

No RURs for 12.2.0.1 – and Oracle 11.2.0.4 left Extended Support

Posted on January 26, 2021 by Mike.Dietrich Patch Recommendation Release Schedule 0

Last week I blogged about the quarterly patching fun when applying the Release Updates to my environments. But I completely forget to mention and explain a few things. There are No RURs for 12.2.0.1 – and Oracle 11.2.0.4 left Extended Support.

No RURs for 12.2.0.1 - and Oracle 11.2.0.4 left Extended Support

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No Release Update Revisions for Oracle 12.2.0.1

Thanks to my friend Rodrigo Jorge who messaged me on the weekend. He goes way deeper with applying the quarterly patches and highlights the differences. And he recognized and blogged already about the fact that there are no RURs available for Oracle 12.2.0.1.

And …

ORA-29702 – and your instance does not startup in the cluster anymore

Posted on November 13, 2020 by Mike.Dietrich ASM / RAC / GI Flaws and Pitfalls Patch Recommendation 11

This is the right blog post for a Friday 13th. And please forgive me – I wanted to put this on the blog earlier as two of my customers hit this weeks ago already. But it must have fallen through the cracks. Still, now it is hopefully not too late to tell you what you should do if you hit ORA-29702 – and your instance does not startup in the cluster anymore. Especially when you tested a database upgrade – and after a restore, the database doesn’t want to start, no matter what you try.

ORA-29702 - and your instance does not startup in the cluster anymore

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Solution for ORA-02303 from JSON_OBJECT_INVALID in upgrade to 19c

Posted on October 30, 2020 by Mike.Dietrich Flaws and Pitfalls 0

I just learned yesterday about this error – and as it seems to happen occasionally, you may want to read more about the Solution for ORA-02303 from JSON_OBJECT_INVALID in upgrade to 19c.

Solution for ORA-02303 from JSON_OBJECT_INVALID in upgrade to 19c

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What happens?

You are upgrading a database to Oracle 19c, and you see this error pattern:

CREATE OR REPLACE TYPE JSON_Object_T AUTHID CURRENT_USER UNDER JSON_Element_T(
*
ERROR at line 1:
ORA-02303: cannot drop or replace a type with type or table dependents

This is coming when catjson.sql gets executed.

Why does it happen?

Unfortunately the FORCE option is missing when we create …

MGA Issue – and it is fixed with Oracle 19.8.0 and newer

Posted on August 20, 2020 by Mike.Dietrich ASM / RAC / GI Flaws and Pitfalls 6

Where do I start? One of the customer accounts I worked the longest time with recently upgraded to Oracle 19c on Exadata. They are an Exadata customer since 2009. After going live on 19c, a few days later they hit an MGA Issue – and it is fixed with Oracle 19.8.0 and newer. But question no.1 was: Why hasn’t Oracle warned us – and how could we have learned about it?

MGA Issue - and it is fixed with Oracle 19.8.0 and newer

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What is the MGA?

OK, I have heard of SGA and PGA. But MGA? The first two hits when I search with …

OJVM datapatch fails with ORA-29532 – but the root cause is noncdb_to_pdb.sql

Posted on April 20, 2020 by Mike.Dietrich Flaws and Pitfalls JVM 2

Kudos to Robert Ortel who brought this nice misbehavior to my attention. And even though it looks like this would be an OJVM issue, it is caused by noncdb_to_pdb,sql, the script which is used to convert a non-CDB to a PDB. When you apply an OJVM patch, OJVM datapatch fails with ORA-29532 – but the root cause is noncdb_to_pdb.sql.

OJVM datapatch fails with ORA-29532 - but the root cause is noncdb_to_pdb.sql

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It’s a bit tricky

First things first. This is not a blog post to blame OJVM. The problem just happens because datapatch for an OJVM patch touches data in the dictionary which hasn’t …

AutoUpgrade may fail when patch ID column is NULL

Posted on November 25, 2019 by Mike.Dietrich AutoUpgrade 39

Monday morning – it’s time to write a new blog post. And actually I will set priorities based on what you reported to me in the past week. This way it may prevent others from hitting the same pitfall. The AutoUpgrade may fail when patch ID column is NULL in REGISTRY$HISTORY.

AutoUpgrade may fail when patch ID column is NULL

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What is happening?

You start a database upgrade with autoupgrade. But the initial check will fail with a message like this:

AutoUpgrade tool launched with default options
There was an error initializing the patching information for entry upg2

The AutoUpgrade won’t kick …

Data Pump 12.1.0.2 – Wrong Dump File Version – ORA-39142

Posted on July 16, 2018 by Mike.Dietrich Data Pump Flaws and Pitfalls Patch Recommendation 2

Data Pump 12.1.0.2 - Wrong Dump File Version - ORA-39142 Again I’ll have to thank my colleague Roland Gräff from the German ACS Support team in Stuttgart for bringing this into our radar. Roland alerted me a week ago about an issue with exports in Oracle 12.1.0.2 only when you are on a certain patch level. I summarize the issue here under Data Pump 12.1.0.2 – Wrong Dump File Version – ORA-39142.

In the below blog post you will learn about the actual issue, where it happens and when, and of course how to workaround it.

When does it happen?

The issue I will describe below happens only with …

fix

Inclusion criteria

What would you see?

Read the official announcements

When does this happen?

Release Update 19.29 and 19.30

What you may see?

There is a fix for it

What is a backport?

Where does the problem start?

Overview

What is the symptom?

Heads Up!

What has happened?

Disabling another fix

What happens, and when does it happen?

Quick Recap

No Release Update Revisions for Oracle 12.2.0.1

What happens?

Why does it happen?

What is the MGA?

It’s a bit tricky

What is happening?

When does it happen?

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