After a record-setting week of Microsoft and Adobe security patches, Oracle is gearing up for a major update of its own next week.

Next Tuesday, the database vendor will release its quarterly Critical Patch Update, which "contains 38 security vulnerability fixes across hundreds of Oracle products," according to an advance notification posted to Oracle's Web site: http://www.oracle.com/technology/deploy/security/critical-patch-updates/cpuoct2009.html

As usual, Oracle's most-patched product next week will be its flagship database, which will get 16 bug fixes. Six of these flaws may be exploitable over a network without any type of authentication, Oracle said.

Also in the mix are eight fixes for the company's E-Business Suite, three for Oracle Application Server and one for the Industry Applications Products Suite.

Patches are also planned for Oracle's BEA, PeopleSoft and JD Edwards software.

The security updates will come a week later than originally planned, as Oracle decided to give administrators attending its annual user conference in San Francisco this week a break and not force them to update their systems while attending the show.

That's turned out to be a good thing for Microsoft shops, as Microsoft released its largest-ever number of security bug fixes on Tuesday, the same day that Adobe pushed out critical security updates of its own.

(PCW)