Doug Bidwell
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IBM i PTF Guide, Volume 26, Number 7
February 19, 2024 Doug Bidwell
Aside from two new security vulnerabilities, it has been a pretty quiet week in IBM i PTF Land. There are some updates for the current releases of IBM i – that would be IBM i 7.4 and IBM i 7.5 that are both on standard support and IBM i 7.3 that is on extended support – and of course there are some new defective PTFs that Big Blue needs to make you aware of, as often happens because all modern platforms are complex and all of them sometimes have patches that have unintended consequences.
Let’s start with the security issues, …
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IBM i PTF Guide, Volume 26, Number 6
February 12, 2024 Doug Bidwell
This week we have three new security vulnerabilities, but first we want to remind you that you need to prepare firewalls and proxies for the upcoming infrastructure changes for IBM Call Home, Electronic Fix Distribution. This is considered HIPER by IBM (High Impact/Pervasive), which you can read about here. Public Internet IP addresses are changing for the IBM servers that support Call Home and electronic download of fixes for customer systems’ software, hardware, and operating system. This change pertains to all operating systems and applications connecting to IBM for electronic Call Home and fix download. If you have a …
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IBM i PTF Guide, Volume 26, Number 5
February 5, 2024 Doug Bidwell
Here is the latest on the mystery of the disappearing QSYS library. If you use SF99740 and SF99741 downloaded from this week, then there shouldn’t be any issues with applying any of the groups. The fixing PTF SI85707 is included in the latest DB group, even though it does not have a new level and does not have a cover letter. If you are using either of those Group PTF orders from prior weeks, then the workaround we described last week is the best course of action.
Be careful here. When you order SF99740, you will receive several .bin files. …
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IBM i PTF Guide, Volume 26, Number 4
January 29, 2024 Doug Bidwell
OK, here’s a weird one and one that we have helped several customers sort out in the past few days and heard about from other business partners. There is a defective PTF for IBM i 7.4 that when applied with other software patches can cause the QSYS file system at the heart of the IBM i platform to magically disappear.
Ooooof! Kinda hits you right in the solar plexus when you think about it. . . .
This one is number 50 on the defective PTF list for IBM i 7.4, which you can read about at this link and …
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IBM i PTF Guide, Volume 26, Number 3
January 22, 2024 Doug Bidwell
Earlier last week, we reported on HIPER and security patches for the relatively ancient IBM i 7.2, which has long since been off standard and now extended maintenance. Now there is another patch for IBM i 7.2, which we found out about this past weekend.
To review, in Number 2 of the IBM i PTF Guide for 2024, there was an IBM i 7.2 Group HIPER, level 240, which is SF99719 and which you can find out more about here, and an IBM i 7.2 Group Security, level 128, which is SF99718 and which you can find out more …
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IBM i PTF Guide, Volume 26, Number 2
January 17, 2024 Doug Bidwell
As odd as it may seem, this week there are HIPER and security patches available for IBM i 7.2, which has long since been off standard and now extended maintenance.
First, there is a defective PTF for IBM i 7.2, which was noted on January 10.
- LICENSED PROGRAM = 5798FAX
- APAR NUMBER: SE81023
- RECOMMENDATION: Apply fixing PTF xxxxxxx when it becomes available, or remove PTF SI85576, or use the SNDFAX command instead of the SBMFAX command.
There is also an IBM i 7.2 Group HIPER, level 240, which is SF99719 and which you can find out more about here, …
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IBM i PTF Guide, Volume 26, Number 1
January 15, 2024 Doug Bidwell
Well, there are two new security vulnerabilities in the IBM i stack, as we report elsewhere in this issue of The Four Hundred. And there is also an update to the System Planning Tool. Let’s do the latter first and the former last.
The System Planning Tool, version 6.23.340, is now available for download at this link. The System Planning Tool is used by customers and business partners to build valid system configurations for Power Systems machines and their software stacks. You can look at the release notes for various SPT generations here.
Now on to the …
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IBM i PTF Guide, Volume 25, Numbers 51, 52, And 53
January 10, 2024 Doug Bidwell
With a holiday that started on December 15, the good folks at IT Jungle have a bit of catching up to do with the IBM i PTF Guide, which just kept rolling through 53 editions in 2023. (Yes, we know there are only 52 weeks in a year, but the way the days line up, you can get an extra edition of the Guide in a year.)
In Volume 25, Number 51, we had Security Bulletin: IBM WebSphere Application Server Liberty for IBM i is vulnerable to denial of service due to a flaw in handling multiplexed streams (CVE-2023-44487), …
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IBM i PTF Guide, Volume 25, Number 50
December 11, 2023 Doug Bidwell
Well, there are two new security vulnerabilities in the IBM i stack, as we report elsewhere in this issue of The Four Hundred. And there is also an update to the System Planning Tool. Let’s do the latter first and the former last.
The System Planning Tool, version 6.23.340, is now available for download at this link. The System Planning Tool is used by customers and business partners to build valid system configurations for Power Systems machines and their software stacks. You can look at the release notes for various SPT generations here.
Now on to the …
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IBM i PTF Guide, Volume 25, Number 49
December 6, 2023 Doug Bidwell
Welcome back to having to worry about security vulnerabilities and PTF patches. This week, there are two security vulnerabilities, a set of patches for IBM i 7.2, and HIPERS for IBM i 7.4 and IBM i 7.5 – among other things. Let’s do the vulnerabilities to start.
First, we have Security Bulletin: IBM Java SDK and IBM Java Runtime for IBM i are vulnerable to a remote attacker causing integrity impacts due to the libraries component (CVE-2023-22049), which you can find out more about here. The IBM i PTF Group numbers contain the fix for the vulnerability. Future PTF …
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