if a problem impacts multiple versions of a component...

a$.$ its not a problem and the code can be fixed in one patch

b$.$ a different feature or codebase can be used instead

c$.$ a single fix for all versions will be preferable, but not necessaily possible, beacuse of different codebases, different compilers used, and different locales

d$.$ multiple patches are preferred

e$.$ depends on whether the code supports double$-$byte languages