- Issued:
- 2009-02-27
- Updated:
- 2009-02-27
RHBA-2009:0283 - device-mapper-multipath bug fix update
Synopsis
device-mapper-multipath bug fix update
Type/Severity
Bug Fix Advisory
Topic
Updated device-mapper-multipath packages that fix a bug are now available.
Description
The device-mapper-multipath packages provide tools to manage multipath devices by giving the device-mapper multipath kernel module instructions on what to do, as well as by managing the creation and removal of partitions for device-mapper devices.
- multipath must be able to open a file descriptor for each path that it monitors, plus 32 other file descriptors. By default, multipath can open 1024 file descriptors, which is sufficient for it to monitor 992 paths. If multipath is not able to open all the file descriptors that it needs, the multipath daemon will not function correctly, and in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.3, this situation exposes a kernel memory leak that can cause a system to stop responding. Previously, multipath would not warn users that it could not open enough file descriptors. Now, when multipath runs out of file descriptors, it prints an error message. System administrators can allow multipath to open more file descriptors by setting "max_fds" in the multipath.conf file to a sufficiently high number, or by setting "max_fds" to "max" to allow multipath to open as many file descriptors as the system allows.
Users are advised to upgrade to these updated device-mapper-multipath packages, which resolve this issue.
Solution
Before applying this update, make sure that all previously-released errata relevant to your system have been applied.
This update is available via Red Hat Network. Details on how to use the Red Hat Network to apply this update are available at This content is not included.http://kbase.redhat.com/faq/docs/DOC-11259
Affected Products
| Product | Version | Arch |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux for x86_64 - Extended Update Support | 5.3 | x86_64 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux for x86_64 - Extended Update Support | 5.3 | ia64 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux for x86_64 - Extended Update Support | 5.3 | i386 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux for Power, big endian | 5 | ppc |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux for Power, big endian - Extended Update Support | 5.3 | ppc |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux for IBM z Systems | 5 | s390x |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux for IBM z Systems - Extended Update Support | 5.3 | s390x |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation | 5 | x86_64 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation | 5 | i386 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server | 5 | x86_64 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server | 5 | ia64 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server | 5 | i386 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server from RHUI | 5 | x86_64 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server from RHUI | 5 | i386 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server - AUS | 5.3 | x86_64 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server - AUS | 5.3 | ia64 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server - AUS | 5.3 | i386 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop | 5 | x86_64 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop | 5 | i386 |
Updated Packages
- device-mapper-multipath-0.4.7-23.el5_3.1.ppc.rpm
- device-mapper-multipath-0.4.7-23.el5_3.1.src.rpm
- kpartx-0.4.7-23.el5_3.1.i386.rpm
- device-mapper-multipath-0.4.7-23.el5_3.1.x86_64.rpm
- device-mapper-multipath-0.4.7-23.el5_3.1.i386.rpm
- kpartx-0.4.7-23.el5_3.1.ppc.rpm
- kpartx-0.4.7-23.el5_3.1.x86_64.rpm
- device-mapper-multipath-0.4.7-23.el5_3.1.s390x.rpm
- kpartx-0.4.7-23.el5_3.1.s390x.rpm
- kpartx-0.4.7-23.el5_3.1.ia64.rpm
- device-mapper-multipath-0.4.7-23.el5_3.1.ia64.rpm
Fixes
CVEs
(none)
References
(none)
Additional information
- The Red Hat security contact is This content is not included.secalert@redhat.com. More contact details at https://access.redhat.com/security/team/contact/.
- Offline Security Data data is available for integration with other systems. See Offline Security Data API to get started.