&gt;Does anybody know why the update is announced a couple of days in advance?<p>For server operators to be prepared. (And I would prefer if they would narrow the timescales more for that.)<p>&gt;Are e.g. maintainers of corresponding packages in Linux distros or *BSD given access to the code ahead of time so they can build new packages?<p>Yes, but that doesn&#x27;t require a public announcement.