Issued:
2004-12-13
Updated:
2004-12-13

RHSA-2004:504 - Updated Itanium kernel packages resolve security issues

Synopsis

Updated Itanium kernel packages resolve security issues

Type/Severity

Security Advisory Important

Topic

Updated Itanium kernel packages are now available as part of ongoing support and maintenance of Red Hat Enterprise Linux version 2.1. This is the sixth regular update.

Description

The Linux kernel handles the basic functions of the operating system.

This is the sixth regular Itanium kernel update to Red Hat Enterprise Linux version 2.1. This kernel updates several important drivers and fixes a number of bugs.

This update includes fixes for several security issues:

Paul Starzetz of iSEC discovered various flaws in the ELF binary loader affecting kernels prior to 2.4.28. A local user could use these flaws to gain read access to executable-only binaries or possibly gain privileges. The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures project (cve.mitre.org) has assigned the names CAN-2004-1070, CAN-2004-1071, CAN-2004-1072, and CAN-2004-1073 to these issues.

A missing serialization flaw in unix_dgram_recvmsg was discovered that affects kernels prior to 2.4.28. A local user could potentially make use of a race condition in order to gain privileges. (CAN-2004-1068)

SGI discovered a bug in the elf loader that affects kernels before 2.4.25 which could be triggered by a malformed binary. On architectures other than x86, a local user could create a malicious binary which could cause a denial of service (crash). (CAN-2004-0136)

Stefan Esser discovered various flaws including buffer overflows in the smbfs driver affecting kernels before 2.4.28. A local user may be able to cause a denial of service (crash) or possibly gain privileges. In order to exploit these flaws the user would need to have control of a connected smb server. (CAN-2004-0883, CAN-2004-0949)

A floating point information leak was discovered in the ia64 architecture context switch code in kernels before 2.4.27. A local user could use this flaw to read register values of other processes by setting the MFH bit. (CAN-2004-0565)

Conectiva discovered flaws in certain USB drivers affecting kernels before 2.4.27 which used the copy_to_user function on uninitialized structures. These flaws could allow local users to read small amounts of kernel memory. (CAN-2004-0685)

The ext3 and jfs code in kernels before 2.4.26 did not properly initialize journal descriptor blocks. A privileged local user could read portions of kernel memory. (CAN-2004-0177, CAN-2004-0181)

The following drivers have been updated:

  • fusion to 2.05.16.16.02
  • e1000 to 5.3.19-k2
  • e100 to 3.0.27-k2

All Red Hat Enterprise Linux 2.1 users running Itanium are advised to upgrade their kernels to the packages listed in this erratum.

Solution

Before applying this update, make sure that all previously-released errata relevant to your system have been applied. Use Red Hat Network to download and update your packages. To launch the Red Hat Update Agent, use the following command:

up2date

For information on how to install packages manually, refer to the following Web page for the System Administration or Customization guide specific to your system:

This content is not included.http://www.redhat.com/docs/manuals/enterprise/

Affected Products

ProductVersionArch
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation2ia64
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server2ia64

Updated Packages

  • kernel-source-2.4.18-e.52.ia64.rpm
  • kernel-2.4.18-e.52.ia64.rpm
  • kernel-doc-2.4.18-e.52.ia64.rpm
  • kernel-smp-2.4.18-e.52.ia64.rpm

Fixes

CVEs

References

(none)

Additional information