Hotfix Pattern — Failures

Pattern: Hotfix
Component: failures.md
Version: 1.2 | Updated: 2026-07-29

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Purpose

Recover when the Hotfix pattern is misapplied — without abandoning the gate.

Failure → detection → recovery

Failure	Detection	Recovery
Coding first	Blast radius grows	Stop; evaluate rollback/flag; restart with IC
Restart storm	Evidence gone	Preserve signals; treat restart as last containment
Scope creep PR	Review impossible	Revert out-of-path; new PR with allowlist
No follow-up	Same SEV returns	Hand to Root Cause pattern

Escalation from Hotfix failures

• Security-class impact during Hotfix → Security skill + human security owner
• Production SEV while misusing Hotfix → Hotfix containment first
• Learning after Hotfix containment → Root Cause

Do not

• Skip the Hotfix human gate “just this once” after a failure
• Delete Hotfix evidence to hide a bad run
• Replace Hotfix with unstructured chat under pressure

Related

• Checklist
• Enterprise notes
• Example

Changelog

• 1.2 (2026-07-29): Hotfix failure recovery table and escalation paths expanded.