Issued:
2013-11-20
Updated:
2013-11-20

RHBA-2013:1655 - seabios bug fix and enhancement update

Synopsis

seabios bug fix and enhancement update

Type/Severity

Bug Fix Advisory

Topic

Updated seabios packages that fix several bugs and add two enhancements are now available for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.

Description

The seabios packages contain an open-source legacy BIOS implementation which can be used as a coreboot payload. It implements the standard BIOS calling interfaces that a typical x86 proprietary BIOS implements.

This update fixes the following bugs:

  • Due to a bug in the Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) description table, a stop error (known as Blue Screen of Death, or BSoD) could occur on certain Windows guests. The problem was observed on the guests using the virtio-win small computer system interface (SCSI) drivers during heavy S3 and S4 power state transitions, for example when running the CrystalDiskMark benchmark. A patch has been applied to fix this bug, and a stop error no longer occurs in the described scenario. (BZ#846519)

  • The multiple ACPI description table (MADT) previously contained an incorrect definition. Consequently, after switching to the S3 or S4 power state, the SCSI driver could not have been disabled and was always attached to the Global System Interrupt (GSI) number 9. The incorrect MADT definition has been fixed and the SCSI driver can now be disabled and enabled in this situation as expected. (BZ#846912)

  • The SeaBIOS utility previously allowed booting even from deselected devices when no bootable device was found. This problem has been fixed by adding support for the HALT instruction, which prevents SeaBIOS from default boot attempts if no bootable device is available. (BZ#888633)

In addition, this update adds the following enhancements:

  • With this update, the SMBIOS GUID number (the same number as the system's UUID) is now displayed on the BIOS Power-on self-test (POST) screen. (BZ#876250)

  • This update modifies the virsh management user interface so the "virsh dump" command now supports automatic core dumps. With appropriate kdump mechanism settings, the vmcore file is automatically captured and the subsequent actions are executed automatically. (BZ#963312)

Users of seabios are advised to upgrade to these updated packages, which fix these bugs and add these enhancements.

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/site/articles/11258

Affected Products

ProductVersionArch
Red Hat Enterprise Linux for Scientific Computing6x86_64
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation6x86_64
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server6x86_64
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server from RHUI6x86_64
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server - Extended Life Cycle Support6x86_64
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server - Extended Life Cycle Support Extension6x86_64
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop6x86_64

Updated Packages

  • seabios-0.6.1.2-28.el6.x86_64.rpm
  • seabios-0.6.1.2-28.el6.src.rpm

Fixes

CVEs

(none)

References

(none)

Additional information