Issued:
2013-02-20
Updated:
2013-02-20

RHBA-2013:0431 - wpa_supplicant bug fix and enhancement update

Synopsis

wpa_supplicant bug fix and enhancement update

Type/Severity

Bug Fix Advisory (none)

Topic

Updated wpa_supplicant packages that fix multiple bugs and add one enhancement are now available for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.

Description

The wpa_supplicant packages contain a WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access) Supplicant utility for Linux, BSD, and Windows with support for WPA and WPA2 (IEEE 802.11i/RSN). The supplicant is an IEEE 802.1X/WPA component that is used in client workstations. It implements key negotiation with a WPA Authenticator and it controls the roaming and IEEE 802.11 authentication and association of the WLAN driver.

This update fixes the following bugs:

  • When roaming from one Access Point (AP) to another and the connection was disrupted, NetworkManager did not always automatically reconnect. This update includes a number of backported upstream patches to improve Proactive Key Caching (PKC), also known as Opportunistic Key Caching (OKC). As a result, WPA connections now roam more reliably. (BZ#813579)

  • Previously, the supplicant would attempt to roam to slightly stronger access points, increasing the chance of a disconnection. This bug has been fixed and the supplicant now only attempts to roam to a stronger access point when the current signal is significantly degraded. (BZ#837402)

This update also adds the following enhancement:

  • The "wpa_gui" program was removed from "wpa_supplicant" in the 6.0 release as per BZ#553349, however, the man page was still being installed. This upgrade removes the man page. (BZ#672976)

All users of wpa_supplicant are advised to upgrade to these updated packages, which fix these bugs and add this enhancement.

Solution

Before applying this update, make sure all previously-released errata relevant to your system have been applied.

This update is available via the 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 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

  • wpa_supplicant-0.7.3-4.el6.i686.rpm
  • wpa_supplicant-debuginfo-0.7.3-4.el6.ppc64.rpm
  • wpa_supplicant-0.7.3-4.el6.x86_64.rpm
  • wpa_supplicant-0.7.3-4.el6.s390x.rpm
  • wpa_supplicant-debuginfo-0.7.3-4.el6.s390x.rpm
  • wpa_supplicant-debuginfo-0.7.3-4.el6.x86_64.rpm
  • wpa_supplicant-0.7.3-4.el6.src.rpm
  • wpa_supplicant-0.7.3-4.el6.ppc64.rpm
  • wpa_supplicant-debuginfo-0.7.3-4.el6.i686.rpm

Fixes

(none)

CVEs

(none)

References

(none)

Additional information