As of August 8, 2017, there have been ten Cumulative Updates (CU) for the Service Pack 3 branch of SQL Server 2012. There have been a fairly high number of hotfixes in every one of these Cumulative Updates, as more people are using SQL Server 2012 Service Pack 3. If you are running SQL Server 2012 Service Pack 3, I really think<\/u><\/strong> you should be running the latest SQL Server 2012 Cumulative Update. <\/p>\n

Table 1 shows the SQL Server 2012 SP3 CU builds that have been released so far.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Build<\/td>\n	Description<\/td>\n	Release Date<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
11.0.6290<\/td>\n	SP3 RTM<\/td>\n	November 22, 2015<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
11.0.6518<\/td>\n	SP3 CU1<\/td>\n	January 18, 2016<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
11.0.6523<\/td>\n	SP3 CU2<\/td>\n	March 21, 2016<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
11.0.6537<\/td>\n	SP3 CU3<\/td>\n	May 16, 2016<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
11.0.6540<\/td>\n	SP3 CU4<\/td>\n	July 18, 2016<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
11.0.6544<\/td>\n	SP3 CU5<\/td>\n	September 20, 2016<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
11.0.6567<\/td>\n	SP3 CU6<\/td>\n	November 16, 2016<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
11.0.6579<\/td>\n	SP3 CU7<\/td>\n	January 17, 2017<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
11.0.6594<\/td>\n	SP3 CU8<\/td>\n	March 20, 2017<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
11.0.6598<\/td>\n	SP3 CU9<\/td>\n	May 15, 2017<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
11.0.6607<\/td>\n	SP3 CU10<\/td>\n	August 8, 2017<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n	<\/td>\n	<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n Table 1: SQL Server 2012 SP3 CU Builds<\/strong><\/p>\n  <\/p>\n You can follow the KB article link below to see all of the CU builds for the SQL Server 2012 Service Pack 3 branch.<\/p>\n \n SQL Server 2012 SP3 Build Versions<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Like I did for the SQL Server 2012 SP2 branch<\/a>, I decided to scan the hotfix list for all of the Cumulative Updates in the SP3 branch, looking for performance and general reliability-related fixes for the SQL Server Database Engine. I came up with the list below, but this listing is completely arbitrary on my part. You may come up with a completely different list, based on what specific SQL Server 2012 features you are using.<\/p>\n Here are the fixes in the Service Pack 3 branch:<\/p>\n SQL Server 2012 SP3 Cumulative Update 1<\/a><\/strong> (Build 11.0.6518), 8 total public hot fixes<\/strong><\/p>\n \n FIX: You cannot use the Transport Layer Security protocol version 1.2 to connect to a server that is running SQL Server 2014 or SQL Server 2012<\/a><\/p>\n FIX: SQL Server may crash when a request for execution of a remote stored procedure contains incomplete definition of arguments<\/a><\/p>\n FIX: You receive error messages when you run a query that uses tempdb in SQL Server<\/a><\/p>\n An update to enable the “-k” startup parameter to control the rate that work files can spill to tempdb is available for SQL Server 2012 Service Pack 3<\/a><\/p>\n FIX: The CHANGETABLE function in a query returns incorrect results when Change Tracking is enabled for a SQL Server database<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n <\/font> <\/p>\n SQL Server 2012 SP3 Cumulative Update 2<\/a><\/strong> (Build 11.0.6523), 20 total public hot fixes<\/strong><\/p>\n \n FIX: Slow performance when you query numeric data types from an Oracle database<\/a><\/p>\n FIX: Access violation when you execute a stored procedure that uses a cursor on a table variable in SQL Server<\/a><\/p>\n FIX: An assertion failure occurs on the secondary replica when you use the AlwaysOn Availability Groups feature in SQL Server 2012<\/a><\/p>\n FIX: Numeric overflow when you run a query that spills more than 65,535 extents to tempdb in SQL Server 2014 or 2012<\/a><\/p>\n FIX: Column data is deleted when you update another column in a table in SQL Server 2012<\/a><\/p>\n FIX: SMK initialization fails on one node of a SQL Server 2012 failover cluster<\/a><\/p>\n FIX: SQL Server stops responding when you back up the certificate that is used to encrypt the database encryption key in SQL Server 2012 or SQL Server 2014<\/a><\/p>\n FIX: XA transactions aren’t cleaned when you exit a Java application in an instance of SQL Server<\/a><\/p>\n FIX: Error occurs when you try to drop or delete filegroups or partition schemes and functions in SQL Server<\/a><\/p>\n FIX: The Log Reader Agent stops intermittently and an Access Violation occurs in SQL Server 2012<\/a><\/p>\n FIX: Error when you use the replication feature in SQL Server 2014 or SQL Server 2012<\/a><\/p>\n FIX: Access violation and the program restarts when you change an extended events session in SQL Server 2014 or 2012<\/a><\/p>\n  <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n SQL Server 2012 SP3 Cumulative Update 3<\/a><\/strong> (Build 11.0.6537), 23 total public hot fixes<\/strong><\/p>\n \n FIX: You do not have the permissions to execute the system sp_readerrorlog stored procedure in SQL Server 2012<\/a><\/p>\n FIX: Filestream directory is not visible after an AlwaysOn replica is restarted in SQL Server 2012<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n \n FIX: Cannot alter column because it is enabled for Replication or Change Data Capture error occurs after a database is restored to a SQL Server that does not support change data capture<\/a><\/p>\n FIX: Error 1478 when you add a database back to the AlwaysOn availability group in SQL Server 2012<\/a><\/p>\n FIX: “Cannot resolve the collation conflict” error when you apply a snapshot to the subscriber database in SQL Server<\/a><\/p>\n FIX: “A severe error occurred on the current command” when a Table-Valued User-Defined function is referred to by a synonym<\/a><\/p>\n FIX: Creating a database on a system that has a large amount of memory installed takes longer<\/a><\/p>\n FIX: “Non-yielding Scheduler” error when versioning cleanup task runs on a SQL Server AlwaysOn secondary replica<\/a><\/p>\n FIX: FileTables in an AlwaysOn availability group become unavailable after failover in an instance of SQL Server 2014 or 2012<\/a><\/p>\n FIX: sys.dm_db_index_usage_stats missing information after index rebuild on SQL Server 2012<\/a><\/p>\n FIX: Memory corruption causes an access violation in an instance of SQL Server 2014 or 2012<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n  <\/p>\n SQL Server 2012 SP3 Cumulative Update 4<\/a><\/strong> (Build 11.0.6540), 19 total public hot fixes<\/strong><\/p>\n \n FIX: SQL Server crashes when you run a remote query in a stored procedure by using an invalid user name <\/a><\/p>\n FIX: Storage device overhead when you back up data or log files to a network share in SQL Server 2014 or 2012 <\/a><\/p>\n FIX: Memory leak on the AlwaysOn secondary replica when change tracking is enabled in SQL Server <\/a><\/p>\n Transaction log backup failure on the secondary replica prevents subsequent backups on Availability Replicas in SQL Server 2012 <\/a><\/p>\n FIX: SQL Server 2012 failover cluster diagnostic log does not accurately reflect the failure_condition_level setting <\/a><\/p>\n FIX: DBCC CHECKDB doesn’t report metadata inconsistency of invalid filegroups in its summary in SQL Server 2014 and SQL Server 2012 <\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n <\/strong> <\/p>\n SQL Server 2012 SP3 Cumulative Update 5<\/a><\/strong> (Build 11.0.6544), 20 total public hot fixes<\/strong><\/p>\n \n FIX: Assertion failures occur when you query the database-state information in SQL Server 2012 <\/a><\/p>\n CPU usage increases significantly when you execute queries that contain CHANGETABLE functions in SQL Server 2012 Service Pack 3 <\/a><\/p>\n FIX: Queries that run against secondary databases always get recompiled in SQL Server <\/a><\/p>\n SQL Server crashes because of an access violation error that occurs while it reads data from an event file target <\/a><\/p>\n SQL Server 2014 or 2012 doesn’t start after you configure the tempdb database to use a very small log file <\/a><\/p>\n Unexpected growth of tempdb data files when using SQL Server Service Broker <\/a><\/p>\n “The log backup chain is broken” error when the log backup process fails in SQL Server <\/a><\/p>\n Operating system error 32 when you restore a database in SQL Server 2014 or 2016 <\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n  <\/p>\n SQL Server 2012 SP3 Cumulative Update 6<\/a><\/strong> (Build 11.0.6567), 11 total public hot fixes<\/strong><\/p>\n \n FIX: DBCC CHECKFILEGROUP reports false inconsistency error 5283 on a database that contains a partitioned table in SQL Server <\/a><\/p>\n Calculation using two measure time values in iterations returns negative values in SQL Server 2012, 2014, or 2016 <\/a><\/p>\n FIX: TDE encrypted Databases go in suspect state during the recovery phase when you restart SQL Server 2012 <\/a><\/p>\n FIX: Automatic failover doesn\u2019t occur after database mirroring stops unexpectedly <\/a><\/p>\n FIX: Incorrect full-text keys are recorded for the rows that aren’t indexed correctly by a full-text index in SQL Server 2012 <\/a><\/p>\n FIX: Rebuilding a nonclustered index to add new columns by using CREATE INDEX together with the DROP_EXISTING=ON and ONLINE=ON clauses causes blocking <\/a><\/p>\n FIX: Error 3456 “Could not redo log record” occurs, causing replicas to be suspended or repeated behavior in SQL Server <\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n <\/strong> <\/p>\n SQL Server 2012 SP3 Cumulative Update 7<\/a><\/strong> (Build 11.0.6579), 11 total public hot fixes<\/strong><\/p>\n \n FIX: An Always On secondary replica goes into a disconnecting state<\/a><\/p>\n FIX: The Target Recovery Time of a database set to a nonzero value causes an assertion and a lease timeout in SQL Server 2014<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cA digitally signed driver is required\u201d warning when you install SQL Server packages in Windows Server 2016 and Windows 10<\/a><\/p>\n FIX: On failover, the new secondary replica stops accepting transaction log records until the instance is restarted in SQL Server<\/a><\/p>\n FIX: Assert memory dump on a mirror server in SQL Server 2012<\/a><\/p>\n FIX: Changing the data type and then updating the table with more than 4,000 records causes database corruption<\/a><\/p>\n  <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n SQL Server 2012 SP3 Cumulative Update 8<\/a><\/strong> (Build 11.0.6594), 17 total public hot fixes<\/strong><\/p>\n \n FIX: DMV sys.dm_hadr_availability_group_states displays “NOT_HEALTHY” in synchronization_health_desc column on secondary replicas in SQL Server 2012<\/a><\/p>\n FIX: Failed assertion and many access violation dump files after the sp_replcmds stored procedure is canceled in SQL Server 2012<\/a><\/p>\n FIX: Bad query plan created on secondary replicas after statistics updated via FULLSCAN option on primary replica in SQL Server 2012<\/a><\/p>\n FIX: A memory leak in SQLWEP causes the host process Wmiprvse.exe to crash in SQL Server 2012<\/a><\/p>\n Update improves handling of documents too large for Full-Text Search indexing in SQL Server<\/a><\/p>\n Update reduces the execution frequency of the sp_MSsubscription_cleanup stored procedure in SQL Server 2012<\/a><\/p>\n FIX: Error 5262 when you execute DBCC CHECKDB on the primary replica in SQL Server 2012, 2014 or 2016<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n <\/strong> <\/p>\n SQL Server 2012 SP3 Cumulative Update 9<\/a><\/strong> (Build 11.0.6598), 10 total public hot fixes<\/strong><\/p>\n \n FIX: “The custom resolver for this article requires OLEAUT32.DLL with a minimum version of 2.40.4276” error with merge publication in SQL Server<\/a><\/p>\n FIX: Can’t grant permissions to another user to log in to an availability group after the owner is removed in SQL Server 2012 or 2014<\/a><\/p>\n FIX: Access violation when a stored procedure is dropped before you execute END TRY section in SQL Server 2012 or 2016<\/a><\/p>\n FIX: A REDO thread is not available in the secondary replica after an availability database is dropped in SQL Server 2012<\/a><\/p>\n FIX: A stored procedure may fail after an automatic failover occurs on a mirrored database in SQL Server 2012<\/a><\/p>\n  <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n SQL Server 2012 SP3 Cumulative Update 10<\/a><\/strong> (Build 11.0.6607), 5 total public hot fixes<\/strong><\/p>\n \n FIX: Access violation occurs when you update compressed data in SQL Server 2012 or 2014<\/a><\/p>\n FIX: Timeout when you back up a large database to URL in SQL Server 2014<\/a><\/p>\n Update adds the “CLR strict security” feature to SQL Server 2016<\/a><\/p>\n FIX: Change Data Capture stops working after a recent cumulative update for SQL Server is installed<\/a><\/p>\n  <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Once again, the idea here is to give you a lot of concrete reasons<\/strong> to want to stay current with the latest SQL Server 2012 SP and CU, by pointing out some of the more valuable fixes in each CU in the Service Pack 3 branch.  If my opinion does not sway everyone, this relatively new Microsoft KB article might be more convincing:<\/p>\n \n Announcing updates to the SQL Server Incremental Servicing Model (ISM)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Another very useful resource is this Microsoft KB article:<\/p>\n \n Recommended updates and configuration options for SQL Server 2012 and SQL Server 2014 used with high-performance workloads<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Happily, Microsoft has been updating this KB article with new information, so you might want to read it again, if you have not done so already.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" As of August 8, 2017, there have been ten Cumulative Updates (CU) for the Service Pack 3 branch of SQL Server 2012. There have been a fairly high number of hotfixes in every one of these Cumulative Updates, as more people are using SQL Server 2012 Service Pack 3. If you are running SQL Server […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,26,31],"tags":[285],"class_list":["post-1082","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sql-server-cumulative-updates","category-sql-server-service-packs","category-sql-server-2012","tag-sql-server-2012-service-pack-3"],"yoast_head":"\n