diff --git a/poky/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/base.py b/poky/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/base.py
index 27db380..aecbbc4 100644
--- a/poky/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/base.py
+++ b/poky/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/base.py
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 #
 # Copyright (C) 2016 Intel Corporation
 #
-# SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0-only
 
 import unittest
 import logging
diff --git a/poky/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/pyparsing/common.py b/poky/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/pyparsing/common.py
index 9d37b04..cbce4c3 100644
--- a/poky/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/pyparsing/common.py
+++ b/poky/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/pyparsing/common.py
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 #
 # Copyright (C) 2016 Intel Corporation
 #
-# SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0-only
 
 import pyparsing
 
diff --git a/poky/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/pyparsing/parse_cve_tags.py b/poky/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/pyparsing/parse_cve_tags.py
index dd7131a..f7fb82e 100644
--- a/poky/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/pyparsing/parse_cve_tags.py
+++ b/poky/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/pyparsing/parse_cve_tags.py
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 #
 # Copyright (C) 2016 Intel Corporation
 #
-# SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0-only
 
 
 import pyparsing
diff --git a/poky/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/pyparsing/parse_shortlog.py b/poky/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/pyparsing/parse_shortlog.py
index 26e9612..30d3ab3 100644
--- a/poky/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/pyparsing/parse_shortlog.py
+++ b/poky/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/pyparsing/parse_shortlog.py
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 #
 # Copyright (C) 2016 Intel Corporation
 #
-# SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0-only
 
 # NOTE:This is an oversimplified syntax of the mbox's summary
 
diff --git a/poky/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/pyparsing/parse_signed_off_by.py b/poky/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/pyparsing/parse_signed_off_by.py
index c8a4351..692ebec 100644
--- a/poky/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/pyparsing/parse_signed_off_by.py
+++ b/poky/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/pyparsing/parse_signed_off_by.py
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 #
 # Copyright (C) 2016 Intel Corporation
 #
-# SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0-only
 
 
 import pyparsing
diff --git a/poky/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/pyparsing/parse_upstream_status.py b/poky/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/pyparsing/parse_upstream_status.py
index d63567e..bc6c427 100644
--- a/poky/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/pyparsing/parse_upstream_status.py
+++ b/poky/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/pyparsing/parse_upstream_status.py
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 #
 # Copyright (C) 2016 Intel Corporation
 #
-# SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0-only
 
 
 import common
diff --git a/poky/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_mbox.py b/poky/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_mbox.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0b623b7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/poky/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_mbox.py
@@ -0,0 +1,159 @@
+# Checks related to the patch's author
+#
+# Copyright (C) 2016 Intel Corporation
+#
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0-only
+
+import base
+import collections
+import parse_shortlog
+import parse_signed_off_by
+import pyparsing
+import subprocess
+from data import PatchTestInput
+
+def headlog():
+    output = subprocess.check_output(
+        "cd %s; git log --pretty='%%h#%%aN#%%cD:#%%s' -1" % PatchTestInput.repodir,
+        universal_newlines=True,
+        shell=True
+        )
+    return output.split('#')
+
+class TestMbox(base.Base):
+
+    auh_email = 'auh@auh.yoctoproject.org'
+
+    invalids = [pyparsing.Regex("^Upgrade Helper.+"),
+                pyparsing.Regex(auh_email),
+                pyparsing.Regex("uh@not\.set"),
+                pyparsing.Regex("\S+@example\.com")]
+
+    rexp_detect = pyparsing.Regex('\[\s?YOCTO.*\]')
+    rexp_validation = pyparsing.Regex('\[(\s?YOCTO\s?#\s?(\d+)\s?,?)+\]')
+    revert_shortlog_regex = pyparsing.Regex('Revert\s+".*"')
+    signoff_prog = parse_signed_off_by.signed_off_by
+    revert_shortlog_regex = pyparsing.Regex('Revert\s+".*"')
+    maxlength = 90
+
+    # base paths of main yocto project sub-projects
+    paths = {
+        'oe-core': ['meta-selftest', 'meta-skeleton', 'meta', 'scripts'],
+        'bitbake': ['bitbake'],
+        'documentation': ['documentation'],
+        'poky': ['meta-poky','meta-yocto-bsp'],
+        'oe': ['meta-gpe', 'meta-gnome', 'meta-efl', 'meta-networking', 'meta-multimedia','meta-initramfs', 'meta-ruby', 'contrib', 'meta-xfce', 'meta-filesystems', 'meta-perl', 'meta-webserver', 'meta-systemd', 'meta-oe', 'meta-python']
+        }
+
+    # scripts folder is a mix of oe-core and poky, most is oe-core code except:
+    poky_scripts = ['scripts/yocto-bsp', 'scripts/yocto-kernel', 'scripts/yocto-layer', 'scripts/lib/bsp']
+
+    Project = collections.namedtuple('Project', ['name', 'listemail', 'gitrepo', 'paths'])
+
+    bitbake = Project(name='Bitbake', listemail='bitbake-devel@lists.openembedded.org', gitrepo='http://git.openembedded.org/bitbake/', paths=paths['bitbake'])
+    doc     = Project(name='Documentantion', listemail='yocto@yoctoproject.org', gitrepo='http://git.yoctoproject.org/cgit/cgit.cgi/yocto-docs/', paths=paths['documentation'])
+    poky    = Project(name='Poky', listemail='poky@yoctoproject.org', gitrepo='http://git.yoctoproject.org/cgit/cgit.cgi/poky/', paths=paths['poky'])
+    oe      = Project(name='oe', listemail='openembedded-devel@lists.openembedded.org', gitrepo='http://git.openembedded.org/meta-openembedded/', paths=paths['oe'])
+
+
+    def test_signed_off_by_presence(self):
+        for commit in TestMbox.commits:
+            # skip those patches that revert older commits, these do not required the tag presence
+            if self.revert_shortlog_regex.search_string(commit.shortlog):
+                continue
+            if not self.signoff_prog.search_string(commit.payload):
+                self.fail('Mbox is missing Signed-off-by. Add it manually or with "git commit --amend -s"',
+                          commit=commit)
+
+    def test_shortlog_format(self):
+        for commit in TestMbox.commits:
+            shortlog = commit.shortlog
+            if not shortlog.strip():
+                self.skip('Empty shortlog, no reason to execute shortlog format test')
+            else:
+                # no reason to re-check on revert shortlogs
+                if shortlog.startswith('Revert "'):
+                    continue
+                try:
+                    parse_shortlog.shortlog.parseString(shortlog)
+                except pyparsing.ParseException as pe:
+                    self.fail('Commit shortlog (first line of commit message) should follow the format "<target>: <summary>"',
+                              commit=commit)
+
+    def test_shortlog_length(self):
+        for commit in TestMbox.commits:
+            # no reason to re-check on revert shortlogs
+            shortlog = commit.shortlog
+            if shortlog.startswith('Revert "'):
+                continue
+            l = len(shortlog)
+            if l > self.maxlength:
+                self.fail('Edit shortlog so that it is %d characters or less (currently %d characters)' % (self.maxlength, l),
+                          commit=commit)
+
+    def test_series_merge_on_head(self):
+        self.skip("Merge test is disabled for now")
+        if PatchTestInput.repo.branch != "master":
+            self.skip("Skipping merge test since patch is not intended for master branch. Target detected is %s" % PatchTestInput.repo.branch)
+        if not PatchTestInput.repo.ismerged:
+            commithash, author, date, shortlog = headlog()
+            self.fail('Series does not apply on top of target branch %s' % PatchTestInput.repo.branch,
+                      data=[('Targeted branch', '%s (currently at %s)' % (PatchTestInput.repo.branch, commithash))])
+
+    def test_target_mailing_list(self):
+        """In case of merge failure, check for other targeted projects"""
+        if PatchTestInput.repo.ismerged:
+            self.skip('Series merged, no reason to check other mailing lists')
+
+        # a meta project may be indicted in the message subject, if this is the case, just fail
+        # TODO: there may be other project with no-meta prefix, we also need to detect these
+        project_regex = pyparsing.Regex("\[(?P<project>meta-.+)\]")
+        for commit in TestMbox.commits:
+            match = project_regex.search_string(commit.subject)
+            if match:
+                self.fail('Series sent to the wrong mailing list or some patches from the series correspond to different mailing lists',
+                          commit=commit)
+
+        for patch in self.patchset:
+            folders = patch.path.split('/')
+            base_path = folders[0]
+            for project in [self.bitbake, self.doc, self.oe, self.poky]:
+                if base_path in  project.paths:
+                    self.fail('Series sent to the wrong mailing list or some patches from the series correspond to different mailing lists',
+                              data=[('Suggested ML', '%s [%s]' % (project.listemail, project.gitrepo)),
+                                    ('Patch\'s path:', patch.path)])
+
+            # check for poky's scripts code
+            if base_path.startswith('scripts'):
+                for poky_file in self.poky_scripts:
+                    if patch.path.startswith(poky_file):
+                        self.fail('Series sent to the wrong mailing list or some patches from the series correspond to different mailing lists',
+                                  data=[('Suggested ML', '%s [%s]' % (self.poky.listemail, self.poky.gitrepo)),('Patch\'s path:', patch.path)])
+
+    def test_mbox_format(self):
+        if self.unidiff_parse_error:
+            self.fail('Series has malformed diff lines. Create the series again using git-format-patch and ensure it applies using git am',
+                      data=[('Diff line',self.unidiff_parse_error)])
+
+    def test_commit_message_presence(self):
+        for commit in TestMbox.commits:
+            if not commit.commit_message.strip():
+                self.fail('Please include a commit message on your patch explaining the change', commit=commit)
+
+    def test_bugzilla_entry_format(self):
+        for commit in TestMbox.commits:
+            if not self.rexp_detect.search_string(commit.commit_message):
+                self.skip("No bug ID found")
+            elif not self.rexp_validation.search_string(commit.commit_message):
+                self.fail('Bugzilla issue ID is not correctly formatted - specify it with format: "[YOCTO #<bugzilla ID>]"', commit=commit)
+
+    def test_author_valid(self):
+        for commit in self.commits:
+            for invalid in self.invalids:
+                if invalid.search_string(commit.author):
+                    self.fail('Invalid author %s. Resend the series with a valid patch author' % commit.author, commit=commit)
+
+    def test_non_auh_upgrade(self):
+        for commit in self.commits:
+            if self.auh_email in commit.payload:
+                self.fail('Invalid author %s. Resend the series with a valid patch author' % self.auh_email, commit=commit)
diff --git a/poky/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_mbox_author.py b/poky/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_mbox_author.py
deleted file mode 100644
index 6c79f16..0000000
--- a/poky/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_mbox_author.py
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,29 +0,0 @@
-# Checks related to the patch's author
-#
-# Copyright (C) 2016 Intel Corporation
-#
-# SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0
-
-import base
-import re
-
-class Author(base.Base):
-
-    auh_email = '<auh@auh.yoctoproject.org>'
-
-    invalids = [re.compile("^Upgrade Helper.+"),
-                re.compile(re.escape(auh_email)),
-                re.compile("uh@not\.set"),
-                re.compile("\S+@example\.com")]
-
-
-    def test_author_valid(self):
-        for commit in self.commits:
-            for invalid in self.invalids:
-                if invalid.search(commit.author):
-                    self.fail('Invalid author %s' % commit.author, 'Resend the series with a valid patch\'s author', commit)
-
-    def test_non_auh_upgrade(self):
-        for commit in self.commits:
-            if self.auh_email in commit.payload:
-                self.fail('Invalid author %s in commit message' % self.auh_email, 'Resend the series with a valid patch\'s author', commit)
diff --git a/poky/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_mbox_bugzilla.py b/poky/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_mbox_bugzilla.py
deleted file mode 100644
index e8de48b..0000000
--- a/poky/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_mbox_bugzilla.py
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,22 +0,0 @@
-# Checks related to the patch's bugzilla tag
-#
-# Copyright (C) 2016 Intel Corporation
-#
-# SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0
-
-import re
-import base
-
-class Bugzilla(base.Base):
-    rexp_detect     = re.compile("\[\s?YOCTO.*\]", re.IGNORECASE)
-    rexp_validation = re.compile("\[(\s?YOCTO\s?#\s?(\d+)\s?,?)+\]", re.IGNORECASE)
-
-    def test_bugzilla_entry_format(self):
-        for commit in Bugzilla.commits:
-            for line in commit.commit_message.splitlines():
-                if self.rexp_detect.match(line):
-                    if not self.rexp_validation.match(line):
-                        self.fail('Yocto Project bugzilla tag is not correctly formatted',
-                                  'Specify bugzilla ID in commit description with format: "[YOCTO #<bugzilla ID>]"',
-                                  commit)
-
diff --git a/poky/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_mbox_cve.py b/poky/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_mbox_cve.py
deleted file mode 100644
index f99194c..0000000
--- a/poky/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_mbox_cve.py
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,49 +0,0 @@
-# Checks related to the patch's CVE lines
-#
-# Copyright (C) 2016 Intel Corporation
-#
-# This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
-# it under the terms of the GNU General Public License version 2 as
-# published by the Free Software Foundation.
-#
-# This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
-# but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
-# MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
-# GNU General Public License for more details.
-#
-# You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along
-# with this program; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc.,
-# 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301 USA.
-
-# SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0-or-later
-
-import base
-import os
-import parse_cve_tags
-import re
-
-class CVE(base.Base):
-
-    revert_shortlog_regex = re.compile('Revert\s+".*"')
-    prog = parse_cve_tags.cve_tag
-
-    def setUp(self):
-        if self.unidiff_parse_error:
-            self.skip('Parse error %s' % self.unidiff_parse_error)
-
-        # we are just interested in series that introduce CVE patches, thus discard other
-        # possibilities: modification to current CVEs, patch directly introduced into the
-        # recipe, upgrades already including the CVE, etc.
-        new_cves = [p for p in self.patchset if p.path.endswith('.patch') and p.is_added_file]
-        if not new_cves:
-            self.skip('No new CVE patches introduced')
-
-    def test_cve_presence_in_commit_message(self):
-        for commit in CVE.commits:
-            # skip those patches that revert older commits, these do not required the tag presence
-            if self.revert_shortlog_regex.match(commit.shortlog):
-                continue
-            if not self.prog.search_string(commit.payload):
-                self.fail('Missing or incorrectly formatted CVE tag in mbox',
-                          'Correct or include the CVE tag in the mbox with format: "CVE: CVE-YYYY-XXXX"',
-                          commit)
diff --git a/poky/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_mbox_description.py b/poky/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_mbox_description.py
deleted file mode 100644
index 7addc6b..0000000
--- a/poky/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_mbox_description.py
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,17 +0,0 @@
-# Checks related to the patch's commit_message
-#
-# Copyright (C) 2016 Intel Corporation
-#
-# SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0
-
-import base
-
-class CommitMessage(base.Base):
-
-    def test_commit_message_presence(self):
-        for commit in CommitMessage.commits:
-            if not commit.commit_message.strip():
-                self.fail('Patch is missing a descriptive commit message',
-                          'Please include a commit message on your patch explaining the change (most importantly why the change is being made)',
-                          commit)
-
diff --git a/poky/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_mbox_format.py b/poky/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_mbox_format.py
deleted file mode 100644
index 85c452c..0000000
--- a/poky/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_mbox_format.py
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,16 +0,0 @@
-# Checks correct parsing of mboxes
-#
-# Copyright (C) 2016 Intel Corporation
-#
-# SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0
-
-import base
-import re
-
-class MboxFormat(base.Base):
-
-    def test_mbox_format(self):
-        if self.unidiff_parse_error:
-            self.fail('Series cannot be parsed correctly due to malformed diff lines',
-                      'Create the series again using git-format-patch and ensure it can be applied using git am',
-                      data=[('Diff line', re.sub('^.+:\s(?<!$)','',self.unidiff_parse_error))])
diff --git a/poky/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_mbox_mailinglist.py b/poky/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_mbox_mailinglist.py
deleted file mode 100644
index de38e20..0000000
--- a/poky/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_mbox_mailinglist.py
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,64 +0,0 @@
-# Check if the series was intended for other project (not OE-Core)
-#
-# Copyright (C) 2017 Intel Corporation
-#
-# SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0
-
-import subprocess
-import collections
-import base
-import re
-from data import PatchTestInput
-
-class MailingList(base.Base):
-
-    # base paths of main yocto project sub-projects
-    paths = {
-        'oe-core': ['meta-selftest', 'meta-skeleton', 'meta', 'scripts'],
-        'bitbake': ['bitbake'],
-        'documentation': ['documentation'],
-        'poky': ['meta-poky','meta-yocto-bsp'],
-        'oe': ['meta-gpe', 'meta-gnome', 'meta-efl', 'meta-networking', 'meta-multimedia','meta-initramfs', 'meta-ruby', 'contrib', 'meta-xfce', 'meta-filesystems', 'meta-perl', 'meta-webserver', 'meta-systemd', 'meta-oe', 'meta-python']
-        }
-
-    # scripts folder is a mix of oe-core and poky, most is oe-core code except:
-    poky_scripts = ['scripts/yocto-bsp', 'scripts/yocto-kernel', 'scripts/yocto-layer', 'scripts/lib/bsp']
-
-    Project = collections.namedtuple('Project', ['name', 'listemail', 'gitrepo', 'paths'])
-
-    bitbake = Project(name='Bitbake', listemail='bitbake-devel@lists.openembedded.org', gitrepo='http://git.openembedded.org/bitbake/', paths=paths['bitbake'])
-    doc     = Project(name='Documentantion', listemail='yocto@yoctoproject.org', gitrepo='http://git.yoctoproject.org/cgit/cgit.cgi/yocto-docs/', paths=paths['documentation'])
-    poky    = Project(name='Poky', listemail='poky@yoctoproject.org', gitrepo='http://git.yoctoproject.org/cgit/cgit.cgi/poky/', paths=paths['poky'])
-    oe      = Project(name='oe', listemail='openembedded-devel@lists.openembedded.org', gitrepo='http://git.openembedded.org/meta-openembedded/', paths=paths['oe'])
-
-
-    def test_target_mailing_list(self):
-        """In case of merge failure, check for other targeted projects"""
-        if PatchTestInput.repo.ismerged:
-            self.skip('Series merged, no reason to check other mailing lists')
-
-        # a meta project may be indicted in the message subject, if this is the case, just fail
-        # TODO: there may be other project with no-meta prefix, we also need to detect these
-        project_regex = re.compile("\[(?P<project>meta-.+)\]")
-        for commit in MailingList.commits:
-            match = project_regex.match(commit.subject)
-            if match:
-                self.fail('Series sent to the wrong mailing list',
-                          'Check the project\'s README (%s) and send the patch to the indicated list' % match.group('project'),
-                          commit)
-
-        for patch in self.patchset:
-            folders = patch.path.split('/')
-            base_path = folders[0]
-            for project in [self.bitbake, self.doc, self.oe, self.poky]:
-                if base_path in  project.paths:
-                    self.fail('Series sent to the wrong mailing list or some patches from the series correspond to different mailing lists', 'Send the series again to the correct mailing list (ML)',
-                              data=[('Suggested ML', '%s [%s]' % (project.listemail, project.gitrepo)),
-                                    ('Patch\'s path:', patch.path)])
-
-            # check for poky's scripts code
-            if base_path.startswith('scripts'):
-                for poky_file in self.poky_scripts:
-                    if patch.path.startswith(poky_file):
-                        self.fail('Series sent to the wrong mailing list or some patches from the series correspond to different mailing lists', 'Send the series again to the correct mailing list (ML)',
-                                  data=[('Suggested ML', '%s [%s]' % (self.poky.listemail, self.poky.gitrepo)),('Patch\'s path:', patch.path)])
diff --git a/poky/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_mbox_merge.py b/poky/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_mbox_merge.py
deleted file mode 100644
index c8b6718..0000000
--- a/poky/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_mbox_merge.py
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,25 +0,0 @@
-# Check if mbox was merged by patchtest
-#
-# Copyright (C) 2016 Intel Corporation
-#
-# SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0
-
-import subprocess
-import base
-from data import PatchTestInput
-
-def headlog():
-    output = subprocess.check_output(
-        "cd %s; git log --pretty='%%h#%%aN#%%cD:#%%s' -1" % PatchTestInput.repodir,
-        universal_newlines=True,
-        shell=True
-        )
-    return output.split('#')
-
-class Merge(base.Base):
-    def test_series_merge_on_head(self):
-        if not PatchTestInput.repo.ismerged:
-            commithash, author, date, shortlog = headlog()
-            self.fail('Series does not apply on top of target branch',
-                      'Rebase your series on top of targeted branch',
-                      data=[('Targeted branch', '%s (currently at %s)' % (PatchTestInput.repo.branch, commithash))])
diff --git a/poky/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_mbox_shortlog.py b/poky/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_mbox_shortlog.py
deleted file mode 100644
index b6c2a20..0000000
--- a/poky/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_mbox_shortlog.py
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,41 +0,0 @@
-# Checks related to the patch's  summary
-#
-# Copyright (C) 2016 Intel Corporation
-#
-# SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0
-
-import base
-import parse_shortlog
-import pyparsing
-
-maxlength = 90
-
-class Shortlog(base.Base):
-
-    def test_shortlog_format(self):
-        for commit in Shortlog.commits:
-            shortlog = commit.shortlog
-            if not shortlog.strip():
-                self.skip('Empty shortlog, no reason to execute shortlog format test')
-            else:
-                # no reason to re-check on revert shortlogs
-                if shortlog.startswith('Revert "'):
-                    continue
-                try:
-                    parse_shortlog.shortlog.parseString(shortlog)
-                except pyparsing.ParseException as pe:
-                    self.fail('Shortlog does not follow expected format',
-                              'Commit shortlog (first line of commit message) should follow the format "<target>: <summary>"',
-                              commit)
-
-    def test_shortlog_length(self):
-        for commit in Shortlog.commits:
-            # no reason to re-check on revert shortlogs
-            shortlog = commit.shortlog
-            if shortlog.startswith('Revert "'):
-                continue
-            l = len(shortlog)
-            if l > maxlength:
-                self.fail('Commit shortlog is too long',
-                          'Edit shortlog so that it is %d characters or less (currently %d characters)' % (maxlength, l),
-                          commit)
diff --git a/poky/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_mbox_signed_off_by.py b/poky/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_mbox_signed_off_by.py
deleted file mode 100644
index 6458951..0000000
--- a/poky/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_mbox_signed_off_by.py
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,28 +0,0 @@
-# Checks related to the patch's signed-off-by lines
-#
-# Copyright (C) 2016 Intel Corporation
-#
-# SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0
-
-import base
-import parse_signed_off_by
-import re
-
-class SignedOffBy(base.Base):
-
-    revert_shortlog_regex = re.compile('Revert\s+".*"')
-
-    @classmethod
-    def setUpClassLocal(cls):
-        # match self.mark with no '+' preceding it
-        cls.prog = parse_signed_off_by.signed_off_by
-
-    def test_signed_off_by_presence(self):
-        for commit in SignedOffBy.commits:
-            # skip those patches that revert older commits, these do not required the tag presence
-            if self.revert_shortlog_regex.match(commit.shortlog):
-                continue
-            if not SignedOffBy.prog.search_string(commit.payload):
-                self.fail('Patch is missing Signed-off-by',
-                          'Sign off the patch (either manually or with "git commit --amend -s")',
-                          commit)
diff --git a/poky/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_metadata.py b/poky/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_metadata.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b6f4456
--- /dev/null
+++ b/poky/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_metadata.py
@@ -0,0 +1,180 @@
+# Checks related to the patch's LIC_FILES_CHKSUM  metadata variable
+#
+# Copyright (C) 2016 Intel Corporation
+#
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0-only
+
+import base
+import os
+import pyparsing
+from data import PatchTestInput, PatchTestDataStore
+
+class TestMetadata(base.Metadata):
+    metadata_lic = 'LICENSE'
+    invalid_license = 'PATCHTESTINVALID'
+    metadata_chksum = 'LIC_FILES_CHKSUM'
+    license_var  = 'LICENSE'
+    closed   = 'CLOSED'
+    lictag_re  = pyparsing.AtLineStart("License-Update:")
+    lic_chksum_added = pyparsing.AtLineStart("+" + metadata_chksum)
+    lic_chksum_removed = pyparsing.AtLineStart("-" + metadata_chksum)
+    add_mark = pyparsing.Regex('\+ ')
+    max_length = 200
+    metadata_src_uri  = 'SRC_URI'
+    md5sum    = 'md5sum'
+    sha256sum = 'sha256sum'
+    git_regex = pyparsing.Regex('^git\:\/\/.*')
+    metadata_summary = 'SUMMARY'
+
+    def test_license_presence(self):
+        if not self.added:
+            self.skip('No added recipes, skipping test')
+
+        # TODO: this is a workaround so we can parse the recipe not
+        # containing the LICENSE var: add some default license instead
+        # of INVALID into auto.conf, then remove this line at the end
+        auto_conf = os.path.join(os.environ.get('BUILDDIR'), 'conf', 'auto.conf')
+        open_flag = 'w'
+        if os.path.exists(auto_conf):
+            open_flag = 'a'
+        with open(auto_conf, open_flag) as fd:
+            for pn in self.added:
+                fd.write('LICENSE ??= "%s"\n' % self.invalid_license)
+
+        no_license = False
+        for pn in self.added:
+            rd = self.tinfoil.parse_recipe(pn)
+            license = rd.getVar(self.metadata_lic)
+            if license == self.invalid_license:
+                no_license = True
+                break
+
+        # remove auto.conf line or the file itself
+        if open_flag == 'w':
+            os.remove(auto_conf)
+        else:
+            fd = open(auto_conf, 'r')
+            lines = fd.readlines()
+            fd.close()
+            with open(auto_conf, 'w') as fd:
+                fd.write(''.join(lines[:-1]))
+
+        if no_license:
+            self.fail('Recipe does not have the LICENSE field set.')
+
+    def test_lic_files_chksum_presence(self):
+        if not self.added:
+            self.skip('No added recipes, skipping test')
+
+        for pn in self.added:
+            rd = self.tinfoil.parse_recipe(pn)
+            pathname = rd.getVar('FILE')
+            # we are not interested in images
+            if '/images/' in pathname:
+                continue
+            lic_files_chksum = rd.getVar(self.metadata_chksum)
+            if rd.getVar(self.license_var) == self.closed:
+                continue
+            if not lic_files_chksum:
+                self.fail('%s is missing in newly added recipe' % self.metadata_chksum)
+
+    def test_lic_files_chksum_modified_not_mentioned(self):
+        if not self.modified:
+            self.skip('No modified recipes, skipping test')
+
+        for patch in self.patchset:
+            # for the moment, we are just interested in metadata
+            if patch.path.endswith('.patch'):
+                continue
+            payload = str(patch)
+            if (self.lic_chksum_added.search_string(payload) or self.lic_chksum_removed.search_string(payload)):
+                # if any patch on the series contain reference on the metadata, fail
+                for commit in self.commits:
+                    if self.lictag_re.search_string(commit.commit_message):
+                       break
+                else:
+                    self.fail('LIC_FILES_CHKSUM changed without "License-Update:" tag and description in commit message')
+
+    def test_max_line_length(self):
+        for patch in self.patchset:
+            # for the moment, we are just interested in metadata
+            if patch.path.endswith('.patch'):
+                continue
+            payload = str(patch)
+            for line in payload.splitlines():
+                if self.add_mark.search_string(line):
+                    current_line_length = len(line[1:])
+                    if current_line_length > self.max_length:
+                        self.fail('Patch line too long (current length %s, maximum is %s)' % (current_line_length, self.max_length),
+                                  data=[('Patch', patch.path), ('Line', '%s ...' % line[0:80])])
+
+    def pretest_src_uri_left_files(self):
+        # these tests just make sense on patches that can be merged
+        if not PatchTestInput.repo.canbemerged:
+            self.skip('Patch cannot be merged')
+        if not self.modified:
+            self.skip('No modified recipes, skipping pretest')
+
+        # get the proper metadata values
+        for pn in self.modified:
+            # we are not interested in images
+            if 'core-image' in pn:
+                continue
+            rd = self.tinfoil.parse_recipe(pn)
+            PatchTestDataStore['%s-%s-%s' % (self.shortid(), self.metadata_src_uri, pn)] = rd.getVar(self.metadata_src_uri)
+
+    def test_src_uri_left_files(self):
+        # these tests just make sense on patches that can be merged
+        if not PatchTestInput.repo.canbemerged:
+            self.skip('Patch cannot be merged')
+        if not self.modified:
+            self.skip('No modified recipes, skipping pretest')
+
+        # get the proper metadata values
+        for pn in self.modified:
+            # we are not interested in images
+            if 'core-image' in pn:
+                continue
+            rd = self.tinfoil.parse_recipe(pn)
+            PatchTestDataStore['%s-%s-%s' % (self.shortid(), self.metadata_src_uri, pn)] = rd.getVar(self.metadata_src_uri)
+
+        for pn in self.modified:
+            pretest_src_uri = PatchTestDataStore['pre%s-%s-%s' % (self.shortid(), self.metadata_src_uri, pn)].split()
+            test_src_uri    = PatchTestDataStore['%s-%s-%s' % (self.shortid(), self.metadata_src_uri, pn)].split()
+
+            pretest_files = set([os.path.basename(patch) for patch in pretest_src_uri if patch.startswith('file://')])
+            test_files    = set([os.path.basename(patch) for patch in test_src_uri    if patch.startswith('file://')])
+
+            # check if files were removed
+            if len(test_files) < len(pretest_files):
+
+                # get removals from patchset
+                filesremoved_from_patchset = set()
+                for patch in self.patchset:
+                    if patch.is_removed_file:
+                        filesremoved_from_patchset.add(os.path.basename(patch.path))
+
+                # get the deleted files from the SRC_URI
+                filesremoved_from_usr_uri = pretest_files - test_files
+
+                # finally, get those patches removed at SRC_URI and not removed from the patchset
+                # TODO: we are not taking into account  renames, so test may raise false positives
+                not_removed = filesremoved_from_usr_uri - filesremoved_from_patchset
+                if not_removed:
+                    self.fail('Patches not removed from tree. Remove them and amend the submitted mbox',
+                              data=[('Patch', f) for f in not_removed])
+
+    def test_summary_presence(self):
+        if not self.added:
+            self.skip('No added recipes, skipping test')
+
+        for pn in self.added:
+            # we are not interested in images
+            if 'core-image' in pn:
+                continue
+            rd = self.tinfoil.parse_recipe(pn)
+            summary = rd.getVar(self.metadata_summary)
+
+            # "${PN} version ${PN}-${PR}" is the default, so fail if default
+            if summary.startswith('%s version' % pn):
+                self.fail('%s is missing in newly added recipe' % self.metadata_summary)
diff --git a/poky/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_metadata_lic_files_chksum.py b/poky/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_metadata_lic_files_chksum.py
deleted file mode 100644
index e9a5b6b..0000000
--- a/poky/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_metadata_lic_files_chksum.py
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,82 +0,0 @@
-# Checks related to the patch's LIC_FILES_CHKSUM  metadata variable
-#
-# Copyright (C) 2016 Intel Corporation
-#
-# SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0
-
-import base
-import re
-from data import PatchTestInput, PatchTestDataStore
-
-class LicFilesChkSum(base.Metadata):
-    metadata = 'LIC_FILES_CHKSUM'
-    license  = 'LICENSE'
-    closed   = 'CLOSED'
-    lictag   = 'License-Update'
-    lictag_re  = re.compile("^%s:" % lictag, re.MULTILINE)
-
-    def setUp(self):
-        # these tests just make sense on patches that can be merged
-        if not PatchTestInput.repo.canbemerged:
-            self.skip('Patch cannot be merged')
-
-    def test_lic_files_chksum_presence(self):
-        if not self.added:
-            self.skip('No added recipes, skipping test')
-
-        for pn in self.added:
-            rd = self.tinfoil.parse_recipe(pn)
-            pathname = rd.getVar('FILE')
-            # we are not interested in images
-            if '/images/' in pathname:
-                continue
-            lic_files_chksum = rd.getVar(self.metadata)
-            if rd.getVar(self.license) == self.closed:
-                continue
-            if not lic_files_chksum:
-                self.fail('%s is missing in newly added recipe' % self.metadata,
-                          'Specify the variable %s in %s' % (self.metadata, pn))
-
-    def pretest_lic_files_chksum_modified_not_mentioned(self):
-        if not self.modified:
-            self.skip('No modified recipes, skipping pretest')
-        # get the proper metadata values
-        for pn in self.modified:
-            rd = self.tinfoil.parse_recipe(pn)
-            pathname = rd.getVar('FILE')
-            # we are not interested in images
-            if '/images/' in pathname:
-                continue
-            PatchTestDataStore['%s-%s-%s' % (self.shortid(),self.metadata,pn)] = rd.getVar(self.metadata)
-
-    def test_lic_files_chksum_modified_not_mentioned(self):
-        if not self.modified:
-            self.skip('No modified recipes, skipping test')
-
-        # get the proper metadata values
-        for pn in self.modified:
-            rd = self.tinfoil.parse_recipe(pn)
-            pathname = rd.getVar('FILE')
-            # we are not interested in images
-            if '/images/' in pathname:
-                continue
-            PatchTestDataStore['%s-%s-%s' % (self.shortid(),self.metadata,pn)] = rd.getVar(self.metadata)
-        # compare if there were changes between pre-merge and merge
-        for pn in self.modified:
-            pretest = PatchTestDataStore['pre%s-%s-%s' % (self.shortid(),self.metadata, pn)]
-            test    = PatchTestDataStore['%s-%s-%s' % (self.shortid(),self.metadata, pn)]
-
-            # TODO: this is workaround to avoid false-positives when pretest metadata is empty (not reason found yet)
-            # For more info, check bug 12284
-            if not pretest:
-                return
-
-            if pretest != test:
-                # if any patch on the series contain reference on the metadata, fail
-                for commit in self.commits:
-                    if self.lictag_re.search(commit.commit_message):
-                       break
-                else:
-                    self.fail('LIC_FILES_CHKSUM changed on target %s but there is no "%s" tag in commit message' % (pn, self.lictag),
-                              'Include "%s: <description>" into the commit message with a brief description' % self.lictag,
-                              data=[('Current checksum', pretest), ('New checksum', test)])
diff --git a/poky/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_metadata_license.py b/poky/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_metadata_license.py
deleted file mode 100644
index 16604db..0000000
--- a/poky/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_metadata_license.py
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,55 +0,0 @@
-# Checks related to the patch's LIC_FILES_CHKSUM  metadata variable
-#
-# Copyright (C) 2016 Intel Corporation
-#
-# SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0
-
-import base
-import os
-from data import PatchTestInput
-
-class License(base.Metadata):
-    metadata = 'LICENSE'
-    invalid_license = 'PATCHTESTINVALID'
-
-    def setUp(self):
-        # these tests just make sense on patches that can be merged
-        if not PatchTestInput.repo.canbemerged:
-            self.skip('Patch cannot be merged')
-
-    def test_license_presence(self):
-        if not self.added:
-            self.skip('No added recipes, skipping test')
-
-        # TODO: this is a workaround so we can parse the recipe not
-        # containing the LICENSE var: add some default license instead
-        # of INVALID into auto.conf, then remove this line at the end
-        auto_conf = os.path.join(os.environ.get('BUILDDIR'), 'conf', 'auto.conf')
-        open_flag = 'w'
-        if os.path.exists(auto_conf):
-            open_flag = 'a'
-        with open(auto_conf, open_flag) as fd:
-            for pn in self.added:
-                fd.write('LICENSE ??= "%s"\n' % self.invalid_license)
-
-        no_license = False
-        for pn in self.added:
-            rd = self.tinfoil.parse_recipe(pn)
-            license = rd.getVar(self.metadata)
-            if license == self.invalid_license:
-                no_license = True
-                break
-
-        # remove auto.conf line or the file itself
-        if open_flag == 'w':
-            os.remove(auto_conf)
-        else:
-            fd = open(auto_conf, 'r')
-            lines = fd.readlines()
-            fd.close()
-            with open(auto_conf, 'w') as fd:
-                fd.write(''.join(lines[:-1]))
-
-        if no_license:
-            self.fail('Recipe does not have the LICENSE field set', 'Include a LICENSE into the new recipe')
-
diff --git a/poky/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_metadata_max_length.py b/poky/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_metadata_max_length.py
deleted file mode 100644
index 04a5e23..0000000
--- a/poky/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_metadata_max_length.py
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,26 +0,0 @@
-# Checks related to patch line lengths
-#
-# Copyright (C) 2016 Intel Corporation
-#
-# SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0
-
-import base
-import re
-
-class MaxLength(base.Base):
-    add_mark = re.compile('\+ ')
-    max_length = 200
-
-    def test_max_line_length(self):
-        for patch in self.patchset:
-            # for the moment, we are just interested in metadata
-            if patch.path.endswith('.patch'):
-                continue
-            payload = str(patch)
-            for line in payload.splitlines():
-                if self.add_mark.match(line):
-                    current_line_length = len(line[1:])
-                    if current_line_length > self.max_length:
-                        self.fail('Patch line too long (current length %s)' % current_line_length,
-                                  'Shorten the corresponding patch line (max length supported %s)' % self.max_length,
-                                  data=[('Patch', patch.path), ('Line', '%s ...' % line[0:80])])
diff --git a/poky/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_metadata_src_uri.py b/poky/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_metadata_src_uri.py
deleted file mode 100644
index 718229d..0000000
--- a/poky/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_metadata_src_uri.py
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,75 +0,0 @@
-# Checks related to the patch's SRC_URI metadata variable
-#
-# Copyright (C) 2016 Intel Corporation
-#
-# SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0
-
-import subprocess
-import base
-import re
-import os
-from data import PatchTestInput, PatchTestDataStore
-
-class SrcUri(base.Metadata):
-
-    metadata  = 'SRC_URI'
-    md5sum    = 'md5sum'
-    sha256sum = 'sha256sum'
-    git_regex = re.compile('^git\:\/\/.*')
-
-    def setUp(self):
-        # these tests just make sense on patches that can be merged
-        if not PatchTestInput.repo.canbemerged:
-            self.skip('Patch cannot be merged')
-
-    def pretest_src_uri_left_files(self):
-        if not self.modified:
-            self.skip('No modified recipes, skipping pretest')
-
-        # get the proper metadata values
-        for pn in self.modified:
-            # we are not interested in images
-            if 'core-image' in pn:
-                continue
-            rd = self.tinfoil.parse_recipe(pn)
-            PatchTestDataStore['%s-%s-%s' % (self.shortid(), self.metadata, pn)] = rd.getVar(self.metadata)
-
-    def test_src_uri_left_files(self):
-        if not self.modified:
-            self.skip('No modified recipes, skipping pretest')
-
-        # get the proper metadata values
-        for pn in self.modified:
-            # we are not interested in images
-            if 'core-image' in pn:
-                continue
-            rd = self.tinfoil.parse_recipe(pn)
-            PatchTestDataStore['%s-%s-%s' % (self.shortid(), self.metadata, pn)] = rd.getVar(self.metadata)
-
-        for pn in self.modified:
-            pretest_src_uri = PatchTestDataStore['pre%s-%s-%s' % (self.shortid(), self.metadata, pn)].split()
-            test_src_uri    = PatchTestDataStore['%s-%s-%s' % (self.shortid(), self.metadata, pn)].split()
-
-            pretest_files = set([os.path.basename(patch) for patch in pretest_src_uri if patch.startswith('file://')])
-            test_files    = set([os.path.basename(patch) for patch in test_src_uri    if patch.startswith('file://')])
-
-            # check if files were removed
-            if len(test_files) < len(pretest_files):
-
-                # get removals from patchset
-                filesremoved_from_patchset = set()
-                for patch in self.patchset:
-                    if patch.is_removed_file:
-                        filesremoved_from_patchset.add(os.path.basename(patch.path))
-
-                # get the deleted files from the SRC_URI
-                filesremoved_from_usr_uri = pretest_files - test_files
-
-                # finally, get those patches removed at SRC_URI and not removed from the patchset
-                # TODO: we are not taking into account  renames, so test may raise false positives
-                not_removed = filesremoved_from_usr_uri - filesremoved_from_patchset
-                if not_removed:
-                    self.fail('Patches not removed from tree',
-                              'Amend the patch containing the software patch file removal',
-                              data=[('Patch', f) for f in not_removed])
-
diff --git a/poky/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_metadata_summary.py b/poky/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_metadata_summary.py
deleted file mode 100644
index 931b267..0000000
--- a/poky/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_metadata_summary.py
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,32 +0,0 @@
-# Checks related to the patch's summary metadata variable
-#
-# Copyright (C) 2016 Intel Corporation
-#
-# SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0
-
-import base
-from data import PatchTestInput
-
-class Summary(base.Metadata):
-    metadata = 'SUMMARY'
-
-    def setUp(self):
-        # these tests just make sense on patches that can be merged
-        if not PatchTestInput.repo.canbemerged:
-            self.skip('Patch cannot be merged')
-
-    def test_summary_presence(self):
-        if not self.added:
-            self.skip('No added recipes, skipping test')
-
-        for pn in self.added:
-            # we are not interested in images
-            if 'core-image' in pn:
-                continue
-            rd = self.tinfoil.parse_recipe(pn)
-            summary = rd.getVar(self.metadata)
-
-            # "${PN} version ${PN}-${PR}" is the default, so fail if default
-            if summary.startswith('%s version' % pn):
-                self.fail('%s is missing in newly added recipe' % self.metadata,
-                          'Specify the variable %s in %s' % (self.metadata, pn))
diff --git a/poky/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_patch.py b/poky/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_patch.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..65d0f93
--- /dev/null
+++ b/poky/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_patch.py
@@ -0,0 +1,102 @@
+# Checks related to the patch's CVE lines
+#
+# Copyright (C) 2016 Intel Corporation
+#
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0-only
+#
+
+import base
+import parse_signed_off_by
+import parse_upstream_status
+import pyparsing
+
+class TestPatch(base.Base):
+
+    re_cve_pattern = pyparsing.Regex("CVE\-\d{4}\-\d+")
+    re_cve_payload_tag = pyparsing.Regex("\+CVE:(\s+CVE\-\d{4}\-\d+)+")
+    upstream_status_regex = pyparsing.AtLineStart("+" + "Upstream-Status")
+
+    @classmethod
+    def setUpClassLocal(cls):
+        cls.newpatches = []
+        # get just those relevant patches: new software patches
+        for patch in cls.patchset:
+            if patch.path.endswith('.patch') and patch.is_added_file:
+                cls.newpatches.append(patch)
+
+        cls.mark = str(parse_signed_off_by.signed_off_by_mark).strip('"')
+
+        # match PatchSignedOffBy.mark with '+' preceding it
+        cls.prog = parse_signed_off_by.patch_signed_off_by
+
+    def setUp(self):
+        if self.unidiff_parse_error:
+            self.skip('Parse error %s' % self.unidiff_parse_error)
+
+        self.valid_status    = ', '.join(parse_upstream_status.upstream_status_nonliteral_valid_status)
+        self.standard_format = 'Upstream-Status: <Valid status>'
+
+        # we are just interested in series that introduce CVE patches, thus discard other
+        # possibilities: modification to current CVEs, patch directly introduced into the
+        # recipe, upgrades already including the CVE, etc.
+        new_cves = [p for p in self.patchset if p.path.endswith('.patch') and p.is_added_file]
+        if not new_cves:
+            self.skip('No new CVE patches introduced')
+
+    def test_upstream_status_presence_format(self):
+        if not TestPatch.newpatches:
+            self.skip("There are no new software patches, no reason to test Upstream-Status presence/format")
+
+        for newpatch in TestPatch.newpatches:
+            payload = newpatch.__str__()
+            if not self.upstream_status_regex.search_string(payload):
+                self.fail('Added patch file is missing Upstream-Status: <Valid status> in the commit message',
+                          data=[('Standard format', self.standard_format), ('Valid status', self.valid_status)])
+            for line in payload.splitlines():
+                if self.patchmetadata_regex.match(line):
+                    continue
+                if self.upstream_status_regex.search_string(line):
+                        if parse_upstream_status.inappropriate_status_mark.searchString(line):
+                            try:
+                                parse_upstream_status.upstream_status_inappropriate_info.parseString(line.lstrip('+'))
+                            except pyparsing.ParseException as pe:
+                                self.fail('Upstream-Status is Inappropriate, but no reason was provided',
+                                          data=[('Current', pe.pstr), ('Standard format', 'Upstream-Status: Inappropriate [reason]')])
+                        elif parse_upstream_status.submitted_status_mark.searchString(line):
+                            try:
+                                parse_upstream_status.upstream_status_submitted_info.parseString(line.lstrip('+'))
+                            except pyparsing.ParseException as pe:
+                                self.fail('Upstream-Status is Submitted, but it is not mentioned where',
+                                          data=[('Current', pe.pstr), ('Standard format', 'Upstream-Status: Submitted [where]')])
+                        else:
+                            try:
+                                parse_upstream_status.upstream_status.parseString(line.lstrip('+'))
+                            except pyparsing.ParseException as pe:
+                                self.fail('Upstream-Status is in incorrect format',
+                                          data=[('Current', pe.pstr), ('Standard format', self.standard_format), ('Valid status', self.valid_status)])
+
+    def test_signed_off_by_presence(self):
+        if not TestPatch.newpatches:
+            self.skip("There are no new software patches, no reason to test %s presence" % PatchSignedOffBy.mark)
+
+        for newpatch in TestPatch.newpatches:
+            payload = newpatch.__str__()
+            for line in payload.splitlines():
+                if self.patchmetadata_regex.match(line):
+                    continue
+                if TestPatch.prog.search_string(payload):
+                    break
+            else:
+                self.fail('A patch file has been added without a Signed-off-by tag. Sign off the added patch file (%s)' % newpatch.path)
+
+    def test_cve_tag_format(self):
+        for commit in TestPatch.commits:
+            if self.re_cve_pattern.search_string(commit.shortlog) or self.re_cve_pattern.search_string(commit.commit_message):
+                tag_found = False
+                for line in commit.payload.splitlines():
+                    if self.re_cve_payload_tag.search_string(line):
+                        tag_found = True
+                        break
+                if not tag_found:
+                    self.fail('Missing or incorrectly formatted CVE tag in patch file. Correct or include the CVE tag in the patch with format: "CVE: CVE-YYYY-XXXX"',
+                              commit=commit)
diff --git a/poky/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_patch_cve.py b/poky/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_patch_cve.py
deleted file mode 100644
index 46ed9ef..0000000
--- a/poky/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_patch_cve.py
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,51 +0,0 @@
-# Checks related to the patch's CVE lines
-#
-# Copyright (C) 2016 Intel Corporation
-#
-# This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
-# it under the terms of the GNU General Public License version 2 as
-# published by the Free Software Foundation.
-#
-# This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
-# but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
-# MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
-# GNU General Public License for more details.
-#
-# You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along
-# with this program; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc.,
-# 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301 USA.
-
-# SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0-or-later
-
-import base
-import os
-import re
-
-class CVE(base.Base):
-
-    re_cve_pattern = re.compile("CVE\-\d{4}\-\d+", re.IGNORECASE)
-    re_cve_payload_tag     = re.compile("\+CVE:(\s+CVE\-\d{4}\-\d+)+")
-
-    def setUp(self):
-        if self.unidiff_parse_error:
-            self.skip('Parse error %s' % self.unidiff_parse_error)
-
-        # we are just interested in series that introduce CVE patches, thus discard other
-        # possibilities: modification to current CVEs, patch directly introduced into the
-        # recipe, upgrades already including the CVE, etc.
-        new_cves = [p for p in self.patchset if p.path.endswith('.patch') and p.is_added_file]
-        if not new_cves:
-            self.skip('No new CVE patches introduced')
-
-    def test_cve_tag_format(self):
-        for commit in CVE.commits:
-            if self.re_cve_pattern.search(commit.shortlog) or self.re_cve_pattern.search(commit.commit_message):
-                tag_found = False
-                for line in commit.payload.splitlines():
-                    if self.re_cve_payload_tag.match(line):
-                        tag_found = True
-                        break
-                if not tag_found:
-                    self.fail('Missing or incorrectly formatted CVE tag in included patch file',
-                              'Correct or include the CVE tag on cve patch with format: "CVE: CVE-YYYY-XXXX"',
-                              commit)
diff --git a/poky/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_patch_signed_off_by.py b/poky/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_patch_signed_off_by.py
deleted file mode 100644
index 4855d6d..0000000
--- a/poky/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_patch_signed_off_by.py
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,43 +0,0 @@
-# Checks related to the patch's signed-off-by lines
-#
-# Copyright (C) 2016 Intel Corporation
-#
-# SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0
-
-import base
-import parse_signed_off_by
-import re
-
-class PatchSignedOffBy(base.Base):
-
-    @classmethod
-    def setUpClassLocal(cls):
-        cls.newpatches = []
-        # get just those relevant patches: new software patches
-        for patch in cls.patchset:
-            if patch.path.endswith('.patch') and patch.is_added_file:
-                cls.newpatches.append(patch)
-
-        cls.mark = str(parse_signed_off_by.signed_off_by_mark).strip('"')
-
-        # match PatchSignedOffBy.mark with '+' preceding it
-        cls.prog = parse_signed_off_by.patch_signed_off_by
-
-    def setUp(self):
-        if self.unidiff_parse_error:
-            self.skip('Parse error %s' % self.unidiff_parse_error)
-
-    def test_signed_off_by_presence(self):
-        if not PatchSignedOffBy.newpatches:
-            self.skip("There are no new software patches, no reason to test %s presence" % PatchSignedOffBy.mark)
-
-        for newpatch in PatchSignedOffBy.newpatches:
-            payload = newpatch.__str__()
-            for line in payload.splitlines():
-                if self.patchmetadata_regex.match(line):
-                    continue
-                if PatchSignedOffBy.prog.search_string(payload):
-                    break
-            else:
-                self.fail('A patch file has been added, but does not have a Signed-off-by tag',
-                          'Sign off the added patch file (%s)' % newpatch.path)
diff --git a/poky/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_patch_upstream_status.py b/poky/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_patch_upstream_status.py
deleted file mode 100644
index eda5353..0000000
--- a/poky/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_patch_upstream_status.py
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,64 +0,0 @@
-# Checks related to the patch's upstream-status lines
-#
-# Copyright (C) 2016 Intel Corporation
-#
-# SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0
-
-import base
-import parse_upstream_status
-import pyparsing
-import os
-
-class PatchUpstreamStatus(base.Base):
-
-    upstream_status_regex = pyparsing.AtLineStart("+" + "Upstream-Status")
-
-    @classmethod
-    def setUpClassLocal(cls):
-        cls.newpatches = []
-        # get just those relevant patches: new software patches
-        for patch in cls.patchset:
-            if patch.path.endswith('.patch') and patch.is_added_file:
-                cls.newpatches.append(patch)
-
-    def setUp(self):
-        if self.unidiff_parse_error:
-            self.skip('Python-unidiff parse error')
-        self.valid_status    = ', '.join(parse_upstream_status.upstream_status_nonliteral_valid_status)
-        self.standard_format = 'Upstream-Status: <Valid status>'
-
-    def test_upstream_status_presence_format(self):
-        if not PatchUpstreamStatus.newpatches:
-            self.skip("There are no new software patches, no reason to test Upstream-Status presence/format")
-
-        for newpatch in PatchUpstreamStatus.newpatches:
-            payload = newpatch.__str__()
-            if not self.upstream_status_regex.search_string(payload):
-                self.fail('Added patch file is missing Upstream-Status in the header',
-                          'Add Upstream-Status: <Valid status> to the header of %s' % newpatch.path,
-                          data=[('Standard format', self.standard_format), ('Valid status', self.valid_status)])
-            for line in payload.splitlines():
-                if self.patchmetadata_regex.match(line):
-                    continue
-                if self.upstream_status_regex.search_string(line):
-                        if parse_upstream_status.inappropriate_status_mark.searchString(line):
-                            try:
-                                parse_upstream_status.upstream_status_inappropriate_info.parseString(line.lstrip('+'))
-                            except pyparsing.ParseException as pe:
-                                self.fail('Upstream-Status is Inappropriate, but no reason was provided',
-                                          'Include a brief reason why %s is inappropriate' % os.path.basename(newpatch.path),
-                                          data=[('Current', pe.pstr), ('Standard format', 'Upstream-Status: Inappropriate [reason]')])
-                        elif parse_upstream_status.submitted_status_mark.searchString(line):
-                            try:
-                                parse_upstream_status.upstream_status_submitted_info.parseString(line.lstrip('+'))
-                            except pyparsing.ParseException as pe:
-                                self.fail('Upstream-Status is Submitted, but it is not mentioned where',
-                                          'Include where %s was submitted' % os.path.basename(newpatch.path),
-                                          data=[('Current', pe.pstr), ('Standard format', 'Upstream-Status: Submitted [where]')])
-                        else:
-                            try:
-                                parse_upstream_status.upstream_status.parseString(line.lstrip('+'))
-                            except pyparsing.ParseException as pe:
-                                self.fail('Upstream-Status is in incorrect format',
-                                          'Fix Upstream-Status format in %s' % os.path.basename(newpatch.path),
-                                          data=[('Current', pe.pstr), ('Standard format', self.standard_format), ('Valid status', self.valid_status)])
diff --git a/poky/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_python_pylint.py b/poky/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_python_pylint.py
index ea8efb7..ef315e5 100644
--- a/poky/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_python_pylint.py
+++ b/poky/meta/lib/patchtest/tests/test_python_pylint.py
@@ -2,11 +2,14 @@
 #
 # Copyright (C) 2016 Intel Corporation
 #
-# SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0-only
 
 import base
+from io import StringIO
 from data import PatchTestInput
-import pylint.epylint as lint
+from pylint.reporters.text import TextReporter
+import pylint.lint as lint
+
 
 class PyLint(base.Base):
     pythonpatches  = []
@@ -26,16 +29,16 @@
     def setUp(self):
         if self.unidiff_parse_error:
             self.skip('Python-unidiff parse error')
-        if not PatchTestInput.repo.canbemerged:
-            self.skip('Patch cannot be merged, no reason to execute the test method')
         if not PyLint.pythonpatches:
             self.skip('No python related patches, skipping test')
 
     def pretest_pylint(self):
         for pythonpatch in self.pythonpatches:
             if pythonpatch.is_modified_file:
-                (pylint_stdout, pylint_stderr) = lint.py_run(command_options = pythonpatch.path + self.pylint_options, return_std=True)
-                for line in pylint_stdout.readlines():
+                pylint_output = StringIO()
+                reporter = TextReporter(pylint_output)
+                lint.Run([self.pylint_options, pythonpatch.path], reporter=reporter, exit=False)
+                for line in pylint_output.readlines():
                     if not '*' in line:
                         if line.strip():
                             self.pylint_pretest[line.strip().split(' ',1)[0]] = line.strip().split(' ',1)[1]
@@ -48,14 +51,15 @@
                 path = pythonpatch.target_file[2:]
             else:
                 path = pythonpatch.path
-            (pylint_stdout, pylint_stderr) = lint.py_run(command_options = path + self.pylint_options, return_std=True)
-            for line in pylint_stdout.readlines():
+            pylint_output = StringIO()
+            reporter = TextReporter(pylint_output)
+            lint.Run([self.pylint_options, pythonpatch.path], reporter=reporter, exit=False)
+            for line in pylint_output.readlines():
                     if not '*' in line:
                         if line.strip():
                             self.pylint_test[line.strip().split(' ',1)[0]] = line.strip().split(' ',1)[1]
 
         for issue in self.pylint_test:
              if self.pylint_test[issue] not in self.pylint_pretest.values():
-                 self.fail('Errors in your Python code were encountered',
-                           'Correct the lines introduced by your patch',
+                 self.fail('Errors in your Python code were encountered. Please check your code with a linter and resubmit',
                            data=[('Output', 'Please, fix the listed issues:'), ('', issue + ' ' + self.pylint_test[issue])])