Issued:
2012-06-20
Updated:
2012-06-20

RHBA-2012:0827 - microcode_ctl bug fix and enhancement update

Synopsis

microcode_ctl bug fix and enhancement update

Type/Severity

Bug Fix Advisory

Topic

Updated microcode_ctl packages that fix one bug and add two enhancements are now available for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.

Description

The microcode_ctl packages provide microcode updates for Intel and AMD processors.

This update fixes the following bug:

  • Previously, running the microcode_ctl utility with long arguments for the "-d" or "-f" options led to a buffer overflow. Consequently, microcode_ctl terminated unexpectedly with a segmentation fault and a backtrace was displayed. With this update, microcode_ctl has been modified to handle this situation gracefully. The microcode_ctl utility no longer crashes and displays an error message informing the user that the file name used is too long. (BZ#768803)

In addition, this update adds the following enhancements:

  • The Intel CPU microcode file has been updated to version 20111110, which is the latest version of the microcode available from Intel. (BZ#736266)

  • The AMD CPU microcode file has been updated to version 20120117, which is the latest version of the microcode available from AMD. (BZ#787757)

All users of microcode_ctl are advised to upgrade to these updated packages, which fix this bug and add these enhancements.

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 https://access.redhat.com/knowledge/articles/11258

Affected Products

ProductVersionArch
Red Hat Enterprise Linux for Scientific Computing6x86_64
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 Desktop6x86_64
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop6i386

Updated Packages

  • microcode_ctl-1.17-11.el6.i686.rpm
  • microcode_ctl-1.17-11.el6.x86_64.rpm
  • microcode_ctl-debuginfo-1.17-11.el6.i686.rpm
  • microcode_ctl-1.17-11.el6.src.rpm
  • microcode_ctl-debuginfo-1.17-11.el6.x86_64.rpm

Fixes

(none)

CVEs

(none)

References

(none)

Additional information