FreeBSD Porter's Handbook
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# 11.2 Fixing security vulnerabilities

While on the subject of ports and packages, a security vulnerability may initially appear in the original distribution or in the port files. In the former case, the original software developer is likely to release a patch or a new version instantly, and you will only need to update the port promptly with respect to the author's fix. If the fix is delayed for some reason, you should either mark the port as `FORBIDDEN` or introduce a patch file of your own to the port. In the case of a vulnerable port, just fix the port as soon as possible. In either case, the standard procedure for submitting your change should be followed unless you have rights to commit it directly to the ports tree.

> Important: Being a ports committer is not enough to commit to an arbitrary port. Remember that ports usually have maintainers, whom you should respect.

Please make sure that the port's revision is bumped as soon as the vulnerability has been closed. That is how the users who upgrade installed packages on a regular basis will see they need to run an update. Besides, a new package will be built and distributed over FTP and WWW mirrors, replacing the vulnerable one. `PORTREVISION` should be bumped unless `PORTVERSION` has changed in the course of correcting the vulnerability. That is you should bump `PORTREVISION` if you have added a patch file to the port, but you should not if you have updated the port to the latest software version and thus already touched `PORTVERSION`. Please refer to the corresponding section for more information.

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For questions about the FreeBSD ports system, e-mail <ports@FreeBSD.org>.
For questions about this documentation, e-mail <doc@FreeBSD.org>.