Issued:
2004-12-23
Updated:
2004-12-23

RHSA-2004:689 - kernel security update

Synopsis

kernel security update

Type/Severity

Security Advisory Important

Topic

Updated kernel packages that fix several security issues in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3 are now available.

Description

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

This advisory includes fixes for several security issues:

Petr Vandrovec discovered a flaw in the 32bit emulation code affecting the Linux 2.4 kernel on the AMD64 architecture. A local attacker could use this flaw to gain privileges. The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures project (cve.mitre.org) has assigned the name CAN-2004-1144 to this issue.

ISEC security research discovered multiple vulnerabilities in the IGMP functionality which was backported in the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3 kernels. These flaws could allow a local user to cause a denial of service (crash) or potentially gain privileges. Where multicast applications are being used on a system, these flaws may also allow remote users to cause a denial of service. The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures project (cve.mitre.org) has assigned the name CAN-2004-1137 to this issue.

ISEC security research and Georgi Guninski independantly discovered a flaw in the scm_send function in the auxiliary message layer. A local user could create a carefully crafted auxiliary message which could cause a denial of service (system hang). The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures project (cve.mitre.org) has assigned the name CAN-2004-1016 to this issue.

A floating point information leak was discovered in the ia64 architecture context switch code. A local user could use this flaw to read register values of other processes by setting the MFH bit. The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures project (cve.mitre.org) has assigned the name CAN-2004-0565 to this issue.

Kirill Korotaev found a flaw in load_elf_binary affecting kernels prior to 2.4.26. A local user could create a carefully crafted binary in such a way that it would cause a denial of service (system crash). The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures project (cve.mitre.org) has assigned the name CAN-2004-1234 to this issue.

These packages also fix issues in the io_edgeport driver, and a memory leak in ip_options_get.

Note: The kernel-unsupported package contains various drivers and modules that are unsupported and therefore might contain security problems that have not been addressed.

All Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3 users are advised to upgrade their kernels to the packages associated with their machine architectures and configurations as 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 for Power, big endian3ppc
Red Hat Enterprise Linux for IBM z Systems3s390x
Red Hat Enterprise Linux for IBM z Systems3s390
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation3x86_64
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation3ia64
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation3i386
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server3x86_64
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server3ia64
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server3i386
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop3x86_64
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop3i386

Updated Packages

  • kernel-2.4.21-27.0.1.EL.ia64.rpm
  • kernel-source-2.4.21-27.0.1.EL.ia64.rpm
  • kernel-doc-2.4.21-27.0.1.EL.ia64.rpm
  • kernel-unsupported-2.4.21-27.0.1.EL.ia64.rpm

Fixes

CVEs

References

(none)

Additional information