Issued:
2007-02-27
Updated:
2007-02-27

RHSA-2007:0085 - Important: kernel security update

Synopsis

Important: kernel security update

Type/Severity

Security Advisory Important

Topic

Updated kernel packages that fix two security issues and a bug in the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4 kernel are now available.

This update has been rated as having important security impact by the Red Hat Security Response Team.

Description

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

These new kernel packages contain fixes for two security issues:

  • a flaw in the key serial number collision avoidance algorithm of the keyctl subsystem that allowed a local user to cause a denial of service (CVE-2007-0006, Important)

  • a flaw in the file watch implementation of the audit subsystems that allowed a local user to cause a denial of service (panic). To exploit this flaw a privileged user must have previously created a watch for a file (CVE-2007-0001, Moderate)

In addition to the security issues described above, a fix for the SCTP subsystem to address a system crash which may be experienced in Telco environments has been included.

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4 users are advised to upgrade their kernels to the packages associated with their machine architecture and configurations as listed in this erratum.

Solution

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

This update is available via Red Hat Network. To use Red Hat Network, launch the Red Hat Update Agent with the following command:

up2date

This will start an interactive process that will result in the appropriate RPMs being upgraded on your system.

Affected Products

ProductVersionArch
Red Hat Enterprise Linux for Power, big endian4ppc
Red Hat Enterprise Linux for IBM z Systems4s390x
Red Hat Enterprise Linux for IBM z Systems4s390
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation4x86_64
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation4ia64
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation4i386
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server4x86_64
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server4ia64
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server4i386
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop4x86_64
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop4i386

Updated Packages

  • kernel-2.6.9-42.0.10.EL.i686.rpm
  • kernel-largesmp-devel-2.6.9-42.0.10.EL.ppc64.rpm
  • kernel-smp-2.6.9-42.0.10.EL.x86_64.rpm
  • kernel-hugemem-2.6.9-42.0.10.EL.i686.rpm
  • kernel-2.6.9-42.0.10.EL.x86_64.rpm
  • kernel-doc-2.6.9-42.0.10.EL.noarch.rpm
  • kernel-devel-2.6.9-42.0.10.EL.x86_64.rpm
  • kernel-largesmp-devel-2.6.9-42.0.10.EL.x86_64.rpm
  • kernel-2.6.9-42.0.10.EL.ppc64.rpm
  • kernel-2.6.9-42.0.10.EL.ia64.rpm
  • kernel-largesmp-2.6.9-42.0.10.EL.ppc64.rpm
  • kernel-smp-devel-2.6.9-42.0.10.EL.x86_64.rpm
  • kernel-2.6.9-42.0.10.EL.s390.rpm
  • kernel-2.6.9-42.0.10.EL.src.rpm
  • kernel-devel-2.6.9-42.0.10.EL.ia64.rpm
  • kernel-smp-devel-2.6.9-42.0.10.EL.i686.rpm
  • kernel-hugemem-devel-2.6.9-42.0.10.EL.i686.rpm
  • kernel-devel-2.6.9-42.0.10.EL.ppc64.rpm
  • kernel-2.6.9-42.0.10.EL.s390x.rpm
  • kernel-smp-2.6.9-42.0.10.EL.i686.rpm
  • kernel-largesmp-2.6.9-42.0.10.EL.ia64.rpm
  • kernel-largesmp-devel-2.6.9-42.0.10.EL.ia64.rpm
  • kernel-devel-2.6.9-42.0.10.EL.ppc64iseries.rpm
  • kernel-devel-2.6.9-42.0.10.EL.i686.rpm
  • kernel-2.6.9-42.0.10.EL.ppc64iseries.rpm
  • kernel-devel-2.6.9-42.0.10.EL.s390.rpm
  • kernel-devel-2.6.9-42.0.10.EL.s390x.rpm
  • kernel-largesmp-2.6.9-42.0.10.EL.x86_64.rpm

Fixes

CVEs

References

Additional information