Issued:
2011-01-04
Updated:
2011-01-04

RHSA-2011:0004 - Important: kernel security, bug fix, and enhancement update

Synopsis

Important: kernel security, bug fix, and enhancement update

Type/Severity

Security Advisory Important

Topic

Updated kernel packages that fix multiple security issues, several bugs, and add an enhancement are now available for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.

The Red Hat Security Response Team has rated this update as having important security impact. Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) base scores, which give detailed severity ratings, are available for each vulnerability from the CVE links in the References section.

Description

The kernel packages contain the Linux kernel, the core of any Linux operating system.

This update fixes the following security issues:

  • A flaw was found in sctp_packet_config() in the Linux kernel's Stream Control Transmission Protocol (SCTP) implementation. A remote attacker could use this flaw to cause a denial of service. (CVE-2010-3432, Important)

  • A missing integer overflow check was found in snd_ctl_new() in the Linux kernel's sound subsystem. A local, unprivileged user on a 32-bit system could use this flaw to cause a denial of service or escalate their privileges. (CVE-2010-3442, Important)

  • A heap overflow flaw in the Linux kernel's Transparent Inter-Process Communication protocol (TIPC) implementation could allow a local, unprivileged user to escalate their privileges. (CVE-2010-3859, Important)

  • An integer overflow flaw was found in the Linux kernel's Reliable Datagram Sockets (RDS) protocol implementation. A local, unprivileged user could use this flaw to cause a denial of service or escalate their privileges. (CVE-2010-3865, Important)

  • A flaw was found in the Xenbus code for the unified block-device I/O interface back end. A privileged guest user could use this flaw to cause a denial of service on the host system running the Xen hypervisor. (CVE-2010-3699, Moderate)

  • Missing sanity checks were found in setup_arg_pages() in the Linux kernel. When making the size of the argument and environment area on the stack very large, it could trigger a BUG_ON(), resulting in a local denial of service. (CVE-2010-3858, Moderate)

  • A flaw was found in inet_csk_diag_dump() in the Linux kernel's module for monitoring the sockets of INET transport protocols. By sending a netlink message with certain bytecode, a local, unprivileged user could cause a denial of service. (CVE-2010-3880, Moderate)

  • Missing sanity checks were found in gdth_ioctl_alloc() in the gdth driver in the Linux kernel. A local user with access to "/dev/gdth" on a 64-bit system could use this flaw to cause a denial of service or escalate their privileges. (CVE-2010-4157, Moderate)

  • The fix for Red Hat Bugzilla bug 484590 as provided in RHSA-2009:1243 introduced a regression. A local, unprivileged user could use this flaw to cause a denial of service. (CVE-2010-4161, Moderate)

  • A NULL pointer dereference flaw was found in the Bluetooth HCI UART driver in the Linux kernel. A local, unprivileged user could use this flaw to cause a denial of service. (CVE-2010-4242, Moderate)

  • It was found that a malicious guest running on the Xen hypervisor could place invalid data in the memory that the guest shared with the blkback and blktap back-end drivers, resulting in a denial of service on the host system. (CVE-2010-4247, Moderate)

  • A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's CPU time clocks implementation for the POSIX clock interface. A local, unprivileged user could use this flaw to cause a denial of service. (CVE-2010-4248, Moderate)

  • Missing initialization flaws in the Linux kernel could lead to information leaks. (CVE-2010-3876, CVE-2010-4083, Low)

Red Hat would like to thank Dan Rosenberg for reporting CVE-2010-3442, CVE-2010-4161, and CVE-2010-4083; Thomas Pollet for reporting CVE-2010-3865; Brad Spengler for reporting CVE-2010-3858; Nelson Elhage for reporting CVE-2010-3880; Alan Cox for reporting CVE-2010-4242; and Vasiliy Kulikov for reporting CVE-2010-3876.

This update also fixes several bugs and adds an enhancement. Documentation for the bug fixes and the enhancement will be available shortly from the Technical Notes document, linked to in the References section.

Users should upgrade to these updated packages, which contain backported patches to correct these issues, and fix the bugs and add the enhancement noted in the Technical Notes. The system must be rebooted for this update to take effect.

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 This content is not included.http://kbase.redhat.com/faq/docs/DOC-11259

To install kernel packages manually, use "rpm -ivh [package]". Do not use "rpm -Uvh" as that will remove the running kernel binaries from your system. You may use "rpm -e" to remove old kernels after determining that the new kernel functions properly on your system.

Affected Products

ProductVersionArch
Red Hat Enterprise Linux for Power, big endian5ppc
Red Hat Enterprise Linux for IBM z Systems5s390x
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation5x86_64
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation5i386
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server5x86_64
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server5ia64
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server5i386
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server from RHUI5x86_64
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server from RHUI5i386
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop5x86_64
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop5i386

Updated Packages

  • kernel-kdump-2.6.18-194.32.1.el5.s390x.rpm
  • kernel-2.6.18-194.32.1.el5.i686.rpm
  • kernel-debug-devel-2.6.18-194.32.1.el5.ia64.rpm
  • kernel-debug-devel-2.6.18-194.32.1.el5.ppc64.rpm
  • kernel-devel-2.6.18-194.32.1.el5.ppc64.rpm
  • kernel-PAE-devel-2.6.18-194.32.1.el5.i686.rpm
  • kernel-xen-devel-2.6.18-194.32.1.el5.x86_64.rpm
  • kernel-debug-2.6.18-194.32.1.el5.ia64.rpm
  • kernel-2.6.18-194.32.1.el5.s390x.rpm
  • kernel-devel-2.6.18-194.32.1.el5.i686.rpm
  • kernel-debug-2.6.18-194.32.1.el5.x86_64.rpm
  • kernel-kdump-devel-2.6.18-194.32.1.el5.ppc64.rpm
  • kernel-devel-2.6.18-194.32.1.el5.ia64.rpm
  • kernel-xen-devel-2.6.18-194.32.1.el5.i686.rpm
  • kernel-xen-2.6.18-194.32.1.el5.ia64.rpm
  • kernel-headers-2.6.18-194.32.1.el5.ia64.rpm
  • kernel-debug-2.6.18-194.32.1.el5.ppc64.rpm
  • kernel-headers-2.6.18-194.32.1.el5.ppc64.rpm
  • kernel-2.6.18-194.32.1.el5.src.rpm
  • kernel-2.6.18-194.32.1.el5.x86_64.rpm
  • kernel-devel-2.6.18-194.32.1.el5.x86_64.rpm
  • kernel-doc-2.6.18-194.32.1.el5.noarch.rpm
  • kernel-headers-2.6.18-194.32.1.el5.s390x.rpm
  • kernel-kdump-devel-2.6.18-194.32.1.el5.s390x.rpm
  • kernel-xen-2.6.18-194.32.1.el5.i686.rpm
  • kernel-PAE-2.6.18-194.32.1.el5.i686.rpm
  • kernel-debug-devel-2.6.18-194.32.1.el5.i686.rpm
  • kernel-kdump-2.6.18-194.32.1.el5.ppc64.rpm
  • kernel-xen-2.6.18-194.32.1.el5.x86_64.rpm
  • kernel-headers-2.6.18-194.32.1.el5.x86_64.rpm
  • kernel-debug-devel-2.6.18-194.32.1.el5.s390x.rpm
  • kernel-devel-2.6.18-194.32.1.el5.s390x.rpm
  • kernel-headers-2.6.18-194.32.1.el5.i386.rpm
  • kernel-debug-2.6.18-194.32.1.el5.i686.rpm
  • kernel-debug-devel-2.6.18-194.32.1.el5.x86_64.rpm
  • kernel-headers-2.6.18-194.32.1.el5.ppc.rpm
  • kernel-2.6.18-194.32.1.el5.ppc64.rpm
  • kernel-debug-2.6.18-194.32.1.el5.s390x.rpm
  • kernel-2.6.18-194.32.1.el5.ia64.rpm
  • kernel-xen-devel-2.6.18-194.32.1.el5.ia64.rpm

Fixes

CVEs

References

Additional information