diff --git a/openjpa-integration/tck/run-tck32.sh b/openjpa-integration/tck/run-tck32.sh
index a699cc00f5..598339b5c5 100755
--- a/openjpa-integration/tck/run-tck32.sh
+++ b/openjpa-integration/tck/run-tck32.sh
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ declare -A DOCKER_NAMES=(
     [mysql]=mysql
     [postgresql]=postgresql
     [mssql]=server
-    [oracle]=oracle-xe
+    [oracle]=oracle-free
 )
 
 declare -A VERSIONS=(
diff --git a/openjpa-jdbc/src/main/java/org/apache/openjpa/jdbc/kernel/exps/AbstractVal.java b/openjpa-jdbc/src/main/java/org/apache/openjpa/jdbc/kernel/exps/AbstractVal.java
index e836635d7e..b4f301e43a 100644
--- a/openjpa-jdbc/src/main/java/org/apache/openjpa/jdbc/kernel/exps/AbstractVal.java
+++ b/openjpa-jdbc/src/main/java/org/apache/openjpa/jdbc/kernel/exps/AbstractVal.java
@@ -18,6 +18,9 @@
  */
 package org.apache.openjpa.jdbc.kernel.exps;
 
+import java.sql.Time;
+
+import org.apache.openjpa.jdbc.meta.JavaSQLTypes;
 import org.apache.openjpa.jdbc.sql.SQLBuffer;
 import org.apache.openjpa.jdbc.sql.Select;
 import org.apache.openjpa.kernel.exps.ExpressionVisitor;
@@ -38,6 +41,20 @@ abstract class AbstractVal
     protected static final String FALSE = "1 <> 1";
     private String _alias = null;
 
+    /**
+     * Return the type code to load the value of this expression with: {@link JavaSQLTypes#SQL_DATE} for a
+     * {@link java.sql.Date} and {@link JavaSQLTypes#TIME} for a {@link Time}, as a driver can return another type
+     * for the column, such as the Timestamp the Oracle driver returns for a DATE column; else
+     * {@link JavaSQLTypes#JDBC_DEFAULT}.
+     */
+    protected int getLoadTypeCode() {
+        Class<?> type = getType();
+        if (type == java.sql.Date.class || type == Time.class) {
+            return JavaSQLTypes.getDateTypeCode(type);
+        }
+        return JavaSQLTypes.JDBC_DEFAULT;
+    }
+
     @Override
     public boolean isVariable() {
         return false;
diff --git a/openjpa-jdbc/src/main/java/org/apache/openjpa/jdbc/kernel/exps/CoalesceExpression.java b/openjpa-jdbc/src/main/java/org/apache/openjpa/jdbc/kernel/exps/CoalesceExpression.java
index 1d7e74da9f..c6253495b2 100644
--- a/openjpa-jdbc/src/main/java/org/apache/openjpa/jdbc/kernel/exps/CoalesceExpression.java
+++ b/openjpa-jdbc/src/main/java/org/apache/openjpa/jdbc/kernel/exps/CoalesceExpression.java
@@ -20,7 +20,6 @@
 
 import java.sql.SQLException;
 
-import org.apache.openjpa.jdbc.meta.JavaSQLTypes;
 import org.apache.openjpa.jdbc.sql.Joins;
 import org.apache.openjpa.jdbc.sql.Raw;
 import org.apache.openjpa.jdbc.sql.Result;
@@ -162,8 +161,7 @@ private SQLBuffer newSQLBuffer(Select sel, ExpContext ctx, ExpState state) {
     @Override
     public Object load(ExpContext ctx, ExpState state, Result res)
         throws SQLException {
-        return Filters.convert(res.getObject(this,
-            JavaSQLTypes.JDBC_DEFAULT, null), getType());
+        return Filters.convert(res.getObject(this, getLoadTypeCode(), null), getType());
     }
 
     @Override
diff --git a/openjpa-jdbc/src/main/java/org/apache/openjpa/jdbc/kernel/exps/GeneralCaseExpression.java b/openjpa-jdbc/src/main/java/org/apache/openjpa/jdbc/kernel/exps/GeneralCaseExpression.java
index 80fe6e24d5..3561642e50 100644
--- a/openjpa-jdbc/src/main/java/org/apache/openjpa/jdbc/kernel/exps/GeneralCaseExpression.java
+++ b/openjpa-jdbc/src/main/java/org/apache/openjpa/jdbc/kernel/exps/GeneralCaseExpression.java
@@ -21,7 +21,6 @@
 import java.sql.SQLException;
 import java.sql.Types;
 
-import org.apache.openjpa.jdbc.meta.JavaSQLTypes;
 import org.apache.openjpa.jdbc.sql.DBDictionary;
 import org.apache.openjpa.jdbc.sql.Joins;
 import org.apache.openjpa.jdbc.sql.Raw;
@@ -203,8 +202,7 @@ private SQLBuffer newSQLBuffer(Select sel, ExpContext ctx, ExpState state) {
     @Override
     public Object load(ExpContext ctx, ExpState state, Result res)
         throws SQLException {
-        return Filters.convert(res.getObject(this,
-            JavaSQLTypes.JDBC_DEFAULT, null), getType());
+        return Filters.convert(res.getObject(this, getLoadTypeCode(), null), getType());
     }
 
     @Override
diff --git a/openjpa-jdbc/src/main/java/org/apache/openjpa/jdbc/kernel/exps/NullIfExpression.java b/openjpa-jdbc/src/main/java/org/apache/openjpa/jdbc/kernel/exps/NullIfExpression.java
index 2368214291..f4570a9114 100644
--- a/openjpa-jdbc/src/main/java/org/apache/openjpa/jdbc/kernel/exps/NullIfExpression.java
+++ b/openjpa-jdbc/src/main/java/org/apache/openjpa/jdbc/kernel/exps/NullIfExpression.java
@@ -20,7 +20,6 @@
 
 import java.sql.SQLException;
 
-import org.apache.openjpa.jdbc.meta.JavaSQLTypes;
 import org.apache.openjpa.jdbc.sql.Raw;
 import org.apache.openjpa.jdbc.sql.Result;
 import org.apache.openjpa.jdbc.sql.SQLBuffer;
@@ -145,8 +144,7 @@ private SQLBuffer newSQLBuffer(Select sel, ExpContext ctx, ExpState state) {
     @Override
     public Object load(ExpContext ctx, ExpState state, Result res)
         throws SQLException {
-        return Filters.convert(res.getObject(this,
-            JavaSQLTypes.JDBC_DEFAULT, null), getType());
+        return Filters.convert(res.getObject(this, getLoadTypeCode(), null), getType());
     }
 
     @Override
diff --git a/openjpa-jdbc/src/main/java/org/apache/openjpa/jdbc/kernel/exps/SimpleCaseExpression.java b/openjpa-jdbc/src/main/java/org/apache/openjpa/jdbc/kernel/exps/SimpleCaseExpression.java
index fc17f977cf..ccf2cd3cb5 100644
--- a/openjpa-jdbc/src/main/java/org/apache/openjpa/jdbc/kernel/exps/SimpleCaseExpression.java
+++ b/openjpa-jdbc/src/main/java/org/apache/openjpa/jdbc/kernel/exps/SimpleCaseExpression.java
@@ -20,7 +20,6 @@
 
 import java.sql.SQLException;
 
-import org.apache.openjpa.jdbc.meta.JavaSQLTypes;
 import org.apache.openjpa.jdbc.sql.DBDictionary;
 import org.apache.openjpa.jdbc.sql.Joins;
 import org.apache.openjpa.jdbc.sql.Raw;
@@ -216,8 +215,7 @@ private SQLBuffer newSQLBuffer(Select sel, ExpContext ctx, ExpState state) {
     @Override
     public Object load(ExpContext ctx, ExpState state, Result res)
         throws SQLException {
-        return Filters.convert(res.getObject(this,
-            JavaSQLTypes.JDBC_DEFAULT, null), getType());
+        return Filters.convert(res.getObject(this, getLoadTypeCode(), null), getType());
     }
 
     @Override
diff --git a/openjpa-persistence-jdbc/src/test/java/org/apache/openjpa/persistence/flush/fkorder/TestDeleteOrderForUnmappedForeignKey.java b/openjpa-persistence-jdbc/src/test/java/org/apache/openjpa/persistence/flush/fkorder/TestDeleteOrderForUnmappedForeignKey.java
index 3ebf6f74a0..e67b2ab5fe 100644
--- a/openjpa-persistence-jdbc/src/test/java/org/apache/openjpa/persistence/flush/fkorder/TestDeleteOrderForUnmappedForeignKey.java
+++ b/openjpa-persistence-jdbc/src/test/java/org/apache/openjpa/persistence/flush/fkorder/TestDeleteOrderForUnmappedForeignKey.java
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@
 import org.apache.openjpa.jdbc.conf.JDBCConfiguration;
 import org.apache.openjpa.jdbc.meta.ClassMapping;
 import org.apache.openjpa.jdbc.schema.ForeignKey;
+import org.apache.openjpa.jdbc.sql.DBDictionary;
 import org.apache.openjpa.persistence.test.SQLListenerTestCase;
 
 /**
@@ -151,6 +152,10 @@ public void testCycleOfNonNullableLogicalForeignKeys() {
      * violate the constraint.
      */
     public void testCycleOfNullableLogicalForeignKeys() {
+        // the statements are counted, so they are not batched, as on Oracle and DB2 by default
+        DBDictionary dict = getDbDictionary(emf);
+        int batchLimit = dict.getBatchLimit();
+        dict.setBatchLimit(0);
         EntityManager em = emf.createEntityManager();
         try {
             em.getTransaction().begin();
@@ -183,6 +188,7 @@ public void testCycleOfNullableLogicalForeignKeys() {
             assertEquals(sql.toString(), 2, deletes);
             em.getTransaction().commit();
         } finally {
+            dict.setBatchLimit(batchLimit);
             if (em.getTransaction().isActive()) {
                 em.getTransaction().rollback();
             }
diff --git a/openjpa-persistence-jdbc/src/test/java/org/apache/openjpa/persistence/jdbc/query/bulk/BulkDeleteSharedA.java b/openjpa-persistence-jdbc/src/test/java/org/apache/openjpa/persistence/jdbc/query/bulk/BulkDeleteSharedA.java
index d13886ece4..f7a5ca5417 100644
--- a/openjpa-persistence-jdbc/src/test/java/org/apache/openjpa/persistence/jdbc/query/bulk/BulkDeleteSharedA.java
+++ b/openjpa-persistence-jdbc/src/test/java/org/apache/openjpa/persistence/jdbc/query/bulk/BulkDeleteSharedA.java
@@ -45,8 +45,7 @@ public class BulkDeleteSharedA {
     @PersistentCollection
     @ContainerTable(name = "BULK_SHARED_COLL",
         joinColumns = {
-            @XJoinColumn(name = "OWNER_ID", referencedColumnName = "ID",
-                columnDefinition = "BIGINT"),
+            @XJoinColumn(name = "OWNER_ID", referencedColumnName = "ID"),
             @XJoinColumn(name = "DISC", referencedColumnName = "'A'",
                 columnDefinition = "VARCHAR(1)") })
     @ElementColumn(name = "VAL")
diff --git a/openjpa-persistence-jdbc/src/test/java/org/apache/openjpa/persistence/jdbc/query/bulk/BulkDeleteSharedB.java b/openjpa-persistence-jdbc/src/test/java/org/apache/openjpa/persistence/jdbc/query/bulk/BulkDeleteSharedB.java
index 201fa833d9..801bb3240e 100644
--- a/openjpa-persistence-jdbc/src/test/java/org/apache/openjpa/persistence/jdbc/query/bulk/BulkDeleteSharedB.java
+++ b/openjpa-persistence-jdbc/src/test/java/org/apache/openjpa/persistence/jdbc/query/bulk/BulkDeleteSharedB.java
@@ -45,8 +45,7 @@ public class BulkDeleteSharedB {
     @PersistentCollection
     @ContainerTable(name = "BULK_SHARED_COLL",
         joinColumns = {
-            @XJoinColumn(name = "OWNER_ID", referencedColumnName = "ID",
-                columnDefinition = "BIGINT"),
+            @XJoinColumn(name = "OWNER_ID", referencedColumnName = "ID"),
             @XJoinColumn(name = "DISC", referencedColumnName = "'B'",
                 columnDefinition = "VARCHAR(1)") })
     @ElementColumn(name = "VAL")
diff --git a/openjpa-persistence-jdbc/src/test/java/org/apache/openjpa/persistence/jpql/expressions/TestInMemoryJDBCEscapeLiterals.java b/openjpa-persistence-jdbc/src/test/java/org/apache/openjpa/persistence/jpql/expressions/TestInMemoryJDBCEscapeLiterals.java
index 64a7e8ea12..43de300973 100644
--- a/openjpa-persistence-jdbc/src/test/java/org/apache/openjpa/persistence/jpql/expressions/TestInMemoryJDBCEscapeLiterals.java
+++ b/openjpa-persistence-jdbc/src/test/java/org/apache/openjpa/persistence/jpql/expressions/TestInMemoryJDBCEscapeLiterals.java
@@ -32,6 +32,7 @@
 
 import jakarta.persistence.EntityManager;
 
+import org.apache.openjpa.jdbc.sql.OracleDictionary;
 import org.apache.openjpa.kernel.QueryImpl;
 import org.apache.openjpa.persistence.simple.AllFieldTypes;
 import org.apache.openjpa.persistence.test.SingleEMFTestCase;
@@ -193,7 +194,8 @@ public void testCaseAndNullIfInMemory() {
             };
             for (String s : select) {
                 String jpql = "SELECT " + s + " FROM AllFieldTypes e";
-                List<String> db = sorted(timestamps(em.createQuery(jpql).getResultList()));
+                List<?> values = em.createQuery(jpql).getResultList();
+                List<String> db = sorted(s.startsWith("NULLIF") && s.contains("{d ") ? dates(values) : timestamps(values));
                 assertEquals(jpql, 2, db.size());
                 assertFalse(jpql, db.get(0).equals(db.get(1)));
                 assertEquals(jpql, db, sorted(inMemory(em, all, jpql)));
@@ -212,6 +214,28 @@ public void testCaseAndNullIfInMemory() {
         }
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Oracle has no type for a date without a time of day: a date field is
+     * mapped to a DATE column, for which the Oracle driver returns a
+     * {@link Timestamp}. The type of NULLIF over a date field and an escape is
+     * not known to OpenJPA, so that Timestamp is passed on. A Timestamp at the
+     * start of a day is compared as the {@link Date} it stands for.
+     */
+    private List<?> dates(List<?> values) {
+        if (!(getDBDictionary() instanceof OracleDictionary)) {
+            return values;
+        }
+        List<Object> result = new ArrayList<>();
+        for (Object value : values) {
+            if (value instanceof Timestamp ts && ts.toLocalDateTime().toLocalTime().equals(LocalTime.MIDNIGHT)) {
+                result.add(Date.valueOf(ts.toLocalDateTime().toLocalDate()));
+            } else {
+                result.add(value);
+            }
+        }
+        return result;
+    }
+
     /**
      * The type of NULLIF over a timestamp field and an escape is not known
      * to OpenJPA, so the value the driver returns is passed on. MySQL 8.4
diff --git a/openjpa-persistence-jdbc/src/test/java/org/apache/openjpa/persistence/jpql/expressions/TestTemporalConditionalExpressions.java b/openjpa-persistence-jdbc/src/test/java/org/apache/openjpa/persistence/jpql/expressions/TestTemporalConditionalExpressions.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..12bc4f4705
--- /dev/null
+++ b/openjpa-persistence-jdbc/src/test/java/org/apache/openjpa/persistence/jpql/expressions/TestTemporalConditionalExpressions.java
@@ -0,0 +1,73 @@
+/*
+ * Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
+ * or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+ * distributed with this work for additional information
+ * regarding copyright ownership.  The ASF licenses this file
+ * to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
+ * "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
+ * with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ * http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
+ * software distributed under the License is distributed on an
+ * "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
+ * KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
+ * specific language governing permissions and limitations
+ * under the License.
+ */
+package org.apache.openjpa.persistence.jpql.expressions;
+
+import java.sql.Date;
+import java.sql.Time;
+import java.util.List;
+
+import jakarta.persistence.EntityManager;
+
+import org.apache.openjpa.persistence.simple.AllFieldTypes;
+import org.apache.openjpa.persistence.test.SingleEMFTestCase;
+
+/**
+ * COALESCE and CASE over a java.sql.Date or java.sql.Time field return a value of the type of the field, also
+ * when the driver returns another type for the column, such as the Timestamp the Oracle driver returns for the
+ * DATE column of such a field.
+ */
+public class TestTemporalConditionalExpressions extends SingleEMFTestCase {
+
+    private static final Date DATE = Date.valueOf("2021-01-03");
+    private static final Time TIME = Time.valueOf("10:20:30");
+
+    @Override
+    public void setUp() {
+        setUp(AllFieldTypes.class, CLEAR_TABLES);
+        try (EntityManager em = emf.createEntityManager()) {
+            em.getTransaction().begin();
+            AllFieldTypes e = new AllFieldTypes();
+            e.setSqlDateField(DATE);
+            e.setSqlTimeField(TIME);
+            em.persist(e);
+            em.getTransaction().commit();
+        }
+    }
+
+    public void testDate() {
+        assertResult(DATE, "SELECT COALESCE(e.sqlDateField, e.sqlDateField) FROM AllFieldTypes e");
+        assertResult(DATE, "SELECT CASE WHEN e.intField = 0 THEN e.sqlDateField ELSE e.sqlDateField END "
+            + "FROM AllFieldTypes e");
+    }
+
+    public void testTime() {
+        assertResult(TIME, "SELECT COALESCE(e.sqlTimeField, e.sqlTimeField) FROM AllFieldTypes e");
+        assertResult(TIME, "SELECT CASE WHEN e.intField = 0 THEN e.sqlTimeField ELSE e.sqlTimeField END "
+            + "FROM AllFieldTypes e");
+    }
+
+    private void assertResult(Object expected, String jpql) {
+        try (EntityManager em = emf.createEntityManager()) {
+            List<?> result = em.createQuery(jpql).getResultList();
+            assertEquals(jpql, 1, result.size());
+            assertEquals(jpql, expected.getClass(), result.get(0).getClass());
+            assertEquals(jpql, expected.toString(), result.get(0).toString());
+        }
+    }
+}
diff --git a/pom.xml b/pom.xml
index 406f891776..211f2a5243 100644
--- a/pom.xml
+++ b/pom.xml
@@ -1484,20 +1484,16 @@
         <!--
             Profile for testing with Oracle DB against a Docker image
 
-            Attention: This might requiere a manual download of the Oracle JDBC driver.
-            This driver (ojdbc6.jar) can be downloaded at the Oracle homepage.
-
-            Then determine which version you got
-            $> unzip -p ojdbc6.jar META-INF/MANIFEST.MF
-            This will contain something like
-            "Implementation-Version: 11.2.0.4.0"
-            Use this version to install the JDBC driver into your local Maven repository
-            with
-            $> mvn install:file ...
-
-            By default we use a ojdbc6 version hosted at Atlassian.
-            For this to work we also need to add a repository section.
-            We only use it for the ojdbc driver though.
+            Uses the Oracle Database Free image (gvenzl/oracle-free, available for amd64 and arm64)
+            and the ojdbc11 driver from Maven Central:
+
+            $> mvn -N -Ptest-oracle-docker docker:start
+            $> mvn install -Ptest-oracle-docker
+            $> mvn -N -Ptest-oracle-docker docker:stop
+
+            docker:stop also removes the container and its volumes. The scripts in src/test/sql/oracle-docker
+            run once when the database is created; they raise the number of processes and sessions,
+            as the test suite opens more connections than the image allows by default.
         -->
         <profile>
             <id>test-oracle-docker</id>
@@ -1507,11 +1503,11 @@
                 </property>
             </activation>
             <properties>
-                <oracle.groupid>com.oracle.ojdbc</oracle.groupid>
-                <oracle.artifactid>ojdbc8</oracle.artifactid>
-                <oracle.version>19.3.0.0</oracle.version>
+                <oracle.groupid>com.oracle.database.jdbc</oracle.groupid>
+                <oracle.artifactid>ojdbc11</oracle.artifactid>
+                <oracle.version>23.26.4.0.0</oracle.version>
 
-                <oracle.server.version>18.4.0</oracle.server.version>
+                <oracle.server.version>23-slim</oracle.server.version>
                 <docker.external.oracle.port>1521</docker.external.oracle.port>
 
                 <connection.driver.name>oracle.jdbc.driver.OracleDriver</connection.driver.name>
@@ -1550,7 +1546,7 @@
                             <removeVolumes>true</removeVolumes>
                             <images>
                                 <image>
-                                    <name>gvenzl/oracle-xe:${oracle.server.version}</name>
+                                    <name>gvenzl/oracle-free:${oracle.server.version}</name>
                                     <run>
                                         <env>
                                             <ORACLE_PASSWORD>${openjpa.oracle.password}</ORACLE_PASSWORD>
@@ -1560,12 +1556,11 @@
                                         </env>
                                         <volumes>
                                             <bind>
-                                                <volume>${project.basedir}/src/test/sql/oracle-docker:/docker-entrypoint-initdb.d/</volume>
+                                                <volume>${project.basedir}/src/test/sql/oracle-docker:/container-entrypoint-initdb.d/</volume>
                                             </bind>
                                         </volumes>
                                         <ports>
                                             <port>${docker.external.oracle.port}:1521</port>
-                                            <port>5500:5500</port>
                                         </ports>
                                         <wait>
                                             <log>DATABASE IS READY TO USE</log>
@@ -1583,27 +1578,18 @@
         <!-- Profile for testing with Oracle DB -->
         <profile>
             <!--
-                Example oracle profile. You can use this profile if you:
-                1) have the Oracle artifacts installed in a local repo and
-                supply the URL:
-                -Doracle.maven.repo=http://my.local.repo
-                2) have a copy of the Oracle driver and run the following
-                command:
-                    mvn install:install-file -Dfile=${path to ojdbc.jar} \
-                                             -DgroupId=com.oracle \
-                                             -DartifactId=jdbc-driver \
-                                             -Dversion=10g \
-                                             -Dpackaging=jar
+                Profile for testing with an Oracle database of your own. The Oracle
+                JDBC driver is taken from Maven Central (com.oracle.database.jdbc:ojdbc11).
 
-                You must also set the following properties:
+                You must set the following properties:
                     -Dopenjpa.oracle.url
                     -Dopenjpa.oracle.username
                     -Dopenjpa.oracle.password
 
-                Optionally, you can override the default Oracle groupId and
-                version by also supplying the following properties:
-                    -Doracle.groupid=com.oracle
-                    -Doracle.version=10g
+                Optionally, you can use another driver by supplying the following properties:
+                    -Doracle.groupid=com.oracle.database.jdbc
+                    -Doracle.artifactid=ojdbc11
+                    -Doracle.version=23.26.4.0.0
             -->
             <id>test-oracle</id>
             <activation>
@@ -1620,10 +1606,9 @@
                 </dependency>
             </dependencies>
             <properties>
-                <oracle.maven.repo>http://not.a.real.repository</oracle.maven.repo>
-                <oracle.groupid>com.oracle.ojdbc</oracle.groupid>
-                <oracle.artifactid>ojdbc8</oracle.artifactid>
-                <oracle.version>19.3.0.0</oracle.version>
+                <oracle.groupid>com.oracle.database.jdbc</oracle.groupid>
+                <oracle.artifactid>ojdbc11</oracle.artifactid>
+                <oracle.version>23.26.4.0.0</oracle.version>
                 <connection.driver.name>oracle.jdbc.driver.OracleDriver</connection.driver.name>
                 <!--<connection.url>jdbc:oracle:thin:@localhost:1521:OPENJPA</connection.url>-->
                 <connection.url>${openjpa.oracle.url}</connection.url>
diff --git a/scripts/run-build-matrix.sh b/scripts/run-build-matrix.sh
index 812179e867..d53c74e7df 100755
--- a/scripts/run-build-matrix.sh
+++ b/scripts/run-build-matrix.sh
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ declare -A DOCKER_NAMES=(
 	[postgresql]=postgresql
 	[mssql]=server
 	[herddb]=herddb
-	[oracle]=oracle-xe
+	[oracle]=oracle-free
 )
 declare -A VERSIONS=(
 	[mysql]='8.4.8 9.4.0 9.7'
diff --git a/src/test/sql/oracle-docker/01-processes.sh b/src/test/sql/oracle-docker/01-processes.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000000..1c9f94ee72
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/test/sql/oracle-docker/01-processes.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+#
+# Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
+# or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+# distributed with this work for additional information
+# regarding copyright ownership.  The ASF licenses this file
+# to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
+# "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
+# with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+# http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
+# software distributed under the License is distributed on an
+# "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
+# KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
+# specific language governing permissions and limitations
+# under the License.
+#
+
+# Init script of the 'test-oracle-docker' Maven profile, run once by the entrypoint of the
+# gvenzl/oracle-free image when the database is created, before it reports DATABASE IS READY TO USE.
+# The test suite opens more connections than the image allows by default (processes=200) and then
+# fails with ORA-12516/ORA-12519, so processes and sessions are raised and the database is restarted.
+sqlplus -s / as sysdba <<SQL
+ALTER SYSTEM SET processes=1000 SCOPE=SPFILE;
+ALTER SYSTEM SET sessions=1600 SCOPE=SPFILE;
+SHUTDOWN IMMEDIATE;
+STARTUP;
+ALTER PLUGGABLE DATABASE ALL OPEN;
+exit;
+SQL
diff --git a/src/test/sql/oracle-docker/init.sql b/src/test/sql/oracle-docker/init.sql
deleted file mode 100644
index e669082341..0000000000
--- a/src/test/sql/oracle-docker/init.sql
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,25 +0,0 @@
--- Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
--- or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
--- distributed with this work for additional information
--- regarding copyright ownership.  The ASF licenses this file
--- to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
--- "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
--- with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
---
--- http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
---
--- Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
--- software distributed under the License is distributed on an
--- "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
--- KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
--- specific language governing permissions and limitations
--- under the License.
-
--- ***********************************************************
--- Init script for creating a work user schema for running
--- tests against our oracle Docker image.
--- See the 'test-oracle-docker' Maven Profile
--- ***********************************************************
-
--- to avoid ORA-12519, TNS:no appropriate service handler found
-alter system set processes=250 scope=spfile;