Issued:
2011-05-19
Updated:
2011-05-19

RHBA-2011:0708 - procps bug fix update

Synopsis

procps bug fix update

Type/Severity

Bug Fix Advisory (none)

Topic

An updated procps package that fixes several bugs is now available.

Description

The procps package contains a set of system utilities that provide system information. The procps package includes ps, free, skill, snice, sysctl, tload, top, uptime, vmstat, w, and watch.

This update addresses the following issues:

  • The vmstat disk device field was, previously, restricted to 15 characters. The Linux kernel allows for device names up to 32 characters, however, and the vmstat restriction resulted in two unwelcome behaviors. First, device names up to 31 characters were displayed correctly by "vmstat -d", although characters after the fifteenth were truncated. More significantly, devices with 32-character names were not displayed by "vmstat -d" at all. With this update, the vmstat disk device field now supports up to 32 characters, ensuring all devices are displayed properly in "vmstat -d" output. (BZ#596948)

  • The sysctl command's man page described the "-A" switch as displaying "all values currently available in table form." This is incorrect: "-A" is equivalent to "-a", simply displaying all currently available values. This update includes an updated man page that corrects the error. As well, this updated man page includes a new NOTES entry, documenting the interaction between modules loaded after sysctl is run and sysctl itself. (BZ#622389)

  • Previously applied procps patches contained three memory leaks, all of which can lead to procps utilities hanging. This update closes the leaks, ensuring the potential hangs do not, now, occur. (BZ#684031)

All procps users are advised to upgrade to this updated package, which resolves these issues.

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.https://access.redhat.com/kb/docs/DOC-11259

Affected Products

ProductVersionArch
Red Hat Enterprise Linux for Scientific Computing6x86_64
Red Hat Enterprise Linux for Power, big endian6ppc64
Red Hat Enterprise Linux for IBM z Systems6s390x
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation6x86_64
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation6i386
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server6x86_64
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server6i386
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server from RHUI6x86_64
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server from RHUI6i386
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server - Extended Life Cycle Support6x86_64
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server - Extended Life Cycle Support6i386
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server - Extended Life Cycle Support Extension6x86_64
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server - Extended Life Cycle Support Extension6i386
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server - Extended Life Cycle Support Extension (for IBM z Systems)6s390x
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server - Extended Life Cycle Support (for IBM z Systems)6s390x
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop6x86_64
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop6i386

Updated Packages

  • procps-3.2.8-17.el6.src.rpm
  • procps-debuginfo-3.2.8-17.el6.x86_64.rpm
  • procps-3.2.8-17.el6.ppc64.rpm
  • procps-3.2.8-17.el6.s390x.rpm
  • procps-debuginfo-3.2.8-17.el6.ppc64.rpm
  • procps-debuginfo-3.2.8-17.el6.i686.rpm
  • procps-3.2.8-17.el6.i686.rpm
  • procps-debuginfo-3.2.8-17.el6.s390x.rpm
  • procps-3.2.8-17.el6.x86_64.rpm

Fixes

CVEs

(none)

References

(none)

Additional information