Is there a policy to delay & batch errata security alerts ?

[Julian H. Stacey]

=?utf-8?Q?Dag-Erling_Sm=C3=B8rgrav?= wrote:
> "Julian H. Stacey" <jhs at berklix.com> writes:
> > I wasn't suggesting delaying releases, just how to smooth down alert
> > waves after releases.
> 
> So you're suggesting holding back advisories?

No. Not once they're researched & ready to publish.  See below.


> > But I had forgotten inevitably some issues that people worked hard on
> > to meet releases, will just miss, & often continue to be worked hard
> > on, so more than usual is ready to be announced just after release.
> 
> Not more than usual.  There just happened to be a cluster immediately
> after 10.2.  There was no such cluster after 10.1; three advisories were
> published four weeks after the release and a fourth a week after that.

Sounds OK re 10.1, I had the impression over years there's
been flurries of announcements shortly after [some] releases.


> Besides, even if there were such a wave after each release, would it
> really matter?

Yes.  It would suggest possible bad management &/or poor product, & bad press.


> Most organizational users need weeks if not months to
> test a new version and plan its deployment, so that hypothetical wave
> would not affect them any more than any other batch of advisories.

OK, but for those supporting on a mix of stable + latest releases,
it's a wave of extra time consuming work.


> > Perhaps if core@ extend their presumed per release Thank You notes
> > to re@ & beyond "Thanks for rolling a release", & append "Please
> > take a short break, you deserve it + it will help minimise an
> > immediate post release notification wave".  Might that help ?
> 
> You want the security team to take a vacation after each release so we
> can maintain the illusion, at least for a couple of weeks, that there
> are no bugs or vulnerabilities in FreeBSD?

No.
It was brief, expecting sensible extrapolation:
  Management includes both asking people to work hard before a
  release, and easing off a bit just after.  Urgent issues could
  continue to be solved, but researching longer existant less urgent
  issues could be slackened for a bit, Without delay to publication
  once complete.

Cheers,
Julian
--
Julian Stacey, BSD Linux Unix C Sys Eng Consultant Munich http://berklix.com
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