A patch conflict is occurring while patching database with Oct 2017 PSU. Oracle version : 11.2.0.4

========OCT 2017 psu on 11.2.0.4 conflict patch==============

Issue Details

Conflict details:
server:database:/oracle/CH21091/26392168 $$ORACLE_HOME/OPatch/opatch prereq CheckConflictAgainstOHWithDetail -ph ./
Oracle Interim Patch Installer version 11.2.0.3.6
Copyright (c) 2013, Oracle Corporation. All rights reserved.

PREREQ session

Oracle Home : /oracle/product/cam44ppt/11.2.0.4
Central Inventory : /oracle/oraInventory
from : /oracle/product/cam44ppt/11.2.0.4/oraInst.loc
OPatch version : 11.2.0.3.6
OUI version : 11.2.0.4.0
Log file location : /oracle/product/cam44ppt/11.2.0.4/cfgtoollogs/opatch/opatch2017-12-27_08-25-37AM_1.log

Invoking prereq "checkconflictagainstohwithdetail"

ZOP-40: The patch(es) has conflicts with other patches installed in the Oracle Home (or) among themselves.

Prereq "checkConflictAgainstOHWithDetail" failed.

Summary of Conflict Analysis:

There are no patches that can be applied now.

Following patches have conflicts. Please contact Oracle Support and get the merged patch of the patches :
25734992, 26392168

Following patches will be rolled back from Oracle Home on application of the patches in the given list :
25734992

Conflicts/Supersets for each patch are:

Patch : 26392168

Conflict with 25734992
Conflict details:
/oracle/product/cam44ppt/11.2.0.4/lib/libgeneric11.a:/qmudx.o

OPatch succeeded.


Analysis on the current patch conflict scenario and subsequent action plan.
> To be applied PSU patch 26392168 (11.2.0.4.171017) has conflicts with the installed patch 25734992.

> However, the patch 25734992 has been regressed and the replacement patch is 26931359.

> When analyzing the conflicts with the replacement patch, it shows conflicts with the PSU 11.2.0.4.171017. A resolution patch 26950781 is available which resolves the conflict. Below is the action plan.

Action Plan:
=========
1. Rollback the conflicting regressed patch 25734992.

2. Apply the PSU patch 26392168.

3. Download the resolution patch. The download link is provided below. Please select the options accordingly as listed and then download.

https://updates.oracle.com/download/26950781.html
Platform or Language : IBM AIX on POWER Systems (64-bit)

You should get the file : p26950781_11204171017_AIX64-5L.zip

4. Apply the newly downloaded patch 26950781.


Recommendation:
=============
I see the current OPatch utility version being used is 11.2.0.3.6 which is an older version. Oracle recommends to use the latest available OPatch version due to enhancements, up-to-date bug fixes and is more compatible with the latest patches. The latest OPatch version 11.2.0.3.17. Updating OPatch version is a fairly simple process and does not require any downtime. The steps are as below:

Steps to update OPatch version:
1. Take a backup of existing $ORACLE_HOME/OPatch directory be renaming it to opatch_backup or any other suitable name of your choice.

2. Download the latest OPatch. The download link is provided below. Please select the options accordingly as listed and then download:

https://updates.oracle.com/download/6880880.html
Select a Release : Oracle 11.2.0.0.0
Platform or Language : IBM AIX on POWER Systems (64-bit)

You should get the zip file : p6880880_112000_AIX64-5L.zip

3. Unzip the downloaded zip file directly to $ORACLE_HOME path and it'll create a directory named OPatch.

4. Verify the OPatch version through commands like : opatch lsinventory OR opatch version.