What You Need to Know About Oracle EBS 12.2 CPU – January 2023

I recently applied the January 2023 released E-Business Suite Release 12.2 CPU patches following the release document 2916871.1.

Below are a few high-level notes that might be helpful for a quick reference for anyone taking up these patches.

E-Business Suite Release 12.2 CPU Patches – January 2023

• The January released EBS CPU patch 34726978 needs AD and TXK Delta 13 updates as a prerequisite. The latest AD and TXK Delta 14 patches are available (1617461.1).
• One significant change AD Delta 13 patch delivers is the new “EBS_SYSTEM” schema. This schema is created when adgrants.sql from this patch is executed before applying the AD Delta 13 or a later patch. As AD Delta 13 was released in November 2021, enough information regarding the EBS_SYSTEM schema is generally available. However, a couple of things about it are below.
• One observed behavior change after patching is in AD Online Patching (ADOP) utility. It now prompts for the EBS_SYSTEM schema password instead of the SYSTEM password. So update any in-house patch automation or custom scripts running ADOP utility accordingly. 
• EBS_SYSTEM schema is introduced to avoid storing EBS objects in SYS or SYSTEM schemas. Review the document, Oracle EBS 12.2 System Schema Migration (Doc ID 2755875.1), to know more about moving to completely use the EBS_SYSTEM schema. Until then, the EBS_SYSTEM user password has to be set to the same as the SYSTEM user.
• In the other components’ security updates for EBS, one has to take specific notes when considering Oracle Fusion Middleware 11.1.1.9 OSS – Web Tier Home patches. Refer to the known issues section, which mentions skipping the patches 32287205 and 34067016 suggested above in the same document. Patch 3130450 – OSS BUNDLE PATCH 11.1.1.9.200714 is presented as an alternate.
• Also, before applying the OSS security patch, cover over the actions from document 2555355.1 to secure internal components communication in the EBS environment. It mentions replacing the internal default (OPMN, OHS) EBS certificates with secured self-signed certificates and updating secured protocols and ciphers in configuration files.

Document References:

• Oracle E-Business Suite Release 12.2 Critical Patch Update Availability Document (January 2023) (Doc ID 2916871.1)
• Applying the Latest AD and TXK Release Update Packs to Oracle E-Business Suite Release 12.2 (1617461.1)
• Oracle E-Business Suite Applications DBA and Technology Stack Release Notes for R12.AD.C.Delta.13 and R12.TXK.C.Delta.13 (Doc ID 2758994.1)
• Oracle E-Business Suite Release 12.2 System Schema Migration (Doc ID 2755875.1)
• Prerequisite Steps to Configure Oracle Fusion Middleware 11.1.1.9 Components for Oracle E-Business Suite Release 12.2 Before Applying July 2019 or Later FMW OSS Security Patch (Doc ID 2555355.1)