Hotfix Releases

MinIO AIStor subscription customers can receive hotfix releases that backport critical fixes to a specific release version without requiring a full upgrade. Hotfixes allow production environments to remain on a standardized release while receiving targeted patches for bugs, regressions, and security vulnerabilities.

A hotfix is a custom build of MinIO AIStor based on a specific release tag with one or more targeted patches cherry-picked from the upstream codebase. Hotfix releases use the naming convention RELEASE.<date>.hotfix to indicate which base release they are built from.

Hotfixes are delivered as binaries.

MinIO applies strict criteria for patches eligible for backporting to hotfix branches:

• Bug fixes that have been reproduced and confirmed in a customer environment.
• Security fixes that address vulnerabilities affecting the customer’s deployment. MinIO proactively notifies affected customers through SUBNET when security patches are available.
• Regression fixes that correct issues introduced in the customer’s current release.

Hotfixes do not include new features, performance enhancements, or changes that alter existing behavior beyond the scope of the fix.

All hotfix patches are first reviewed and merged to the upstream main branch before being backported.

1. Open a support issue on SUBNET describing the problem, including the release version you are running.
2. MinIO Engineering reproduces and validates the issue.
3. If the fix meets the hotfix criteria, MinIO creates a hotfix branch from your release tag and backports the patch.
4. The hotfix binary is built, tested, and delivered to you through the MinIO download server.

Replace the MinIO AIStor binary with the hotfix version on all nodes and restart:

1. Download the hotfix binary provided by MinIO support.

2. Replace the existing minio binary on all nodes in the deployment.

3. Restart MinIO AIStor on all nodes simultaneously:

   sudo systemctl restart minio
   

MinIO AIStor maintains availability during restarts regardless of the method used. A rolling restart, where nodes are restarted one at a time, offers the added benefit of rollback — if an issue surfaces after the first few nodes, you can revert the remaining nodes to the previous binary before proceeding.

Hotfix branches provide long-term maintenance for production deployments that cannot frequently upgrade. You can continue to receive hotfixes on your standardized release while planning a full upgrade on your own schedule.

When you are ready to upgrade to a newer release, follow the Upgrade procedures. After upgrading, any hotfixes previously applied to the older release are no longer needed, as the newer release includes all upstream fixes.

Hotfix releases are available exclusively to MinIO AIStor subscription customers. See MinIO Pricing for subscription details or contact your MinIO account representative.

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