Oracle's next critical patch update is a week away, but customers of the database giant already have a security hole to worry about--and this one appears to have been <A HREF="http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/originalContent/0,289142,sid14_gci1179667,00.html?track=sy160">accidentally released by the company</A> itself. According to Alexander Kornbrust, a well-known database security researcher and business director at German firm Red-Database-Security GmbH, Redwood Shores, Calif.-based Oracle accidentally posted information about the flaw--including how to exploit it--on its MetaLink customer support site.