Issued:
2011-01-18
Updated:
2011-01-18

RHSA-2011:0162 - Important: kernel security and bug fix update

Synopsis

Important: kernel security and bug fix update

Type/Severity

Security Advisory Important

Topic

Updated kernel packages that fix multiple security issues and two bugs are now available for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4.

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

  • 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 these flaws to cause a denial of service or escalate their privileges. (CVE-2010-4157, 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)

  • A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's garbage collector for AF_UNIX sockets. A local, unprivileged user could use this flaw to trigger a denial of service (out-of-memory condition). (CVE-2010-4249, Moderate)

  • Missing initialization flaws were found in the Linux kernel. A local, unprivileged user could use these flaws to cause information leaks. (CVE-2010-3876, CVE-2010-4072, CVE-2010-4073, CVE-2010-4075, CVE-2010-4080, CVE-2010-4083, CVE-2010-4158, Low)

Red Hat would like to thank Alan Cox for reporting CVE-2010-4242; Vegard Nossum for reporting CVE-2010-4249; Vasiliy Kulikov for reporting CVE-2010-3876; Kees Cook for reporting CVE-2010-4072; and Dan Rosenberg for reporting CVE-2010-4073, CVE-2010-4075, CVE-2010-4080, CVE-2010-4083, and CVE-2010-4158.

This update also fixes the following bugs:

  • A flaw was found in the Linux kernel where, if used in conjunction with another flaw that can result in a kernel Oops, could possibly lead to privilege escalation. It does not affect Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4 as the sysctl panic_on_oops variable is turned on by default. However, as a preventive measure if the variable is turned off by an administrator, this update addresses the issue. Red Hat would like to thank Nelson Elhage for reporting this vulnerability. (BZ#659568)

  • On Intel I/O Controller Hub 9 (ICH9) hardware, jumbo frame support is achieved by using page-based sk_buff buffers without any packet split. The entire frame data is copied to the page(s) rather than some to the skb->data area and some to the page(s) when performing a typical packet-split. This caused problems with the filtering code and frames were getting dropped before they were received by listening applications. This bug could eventually lead to the IP address being released and not being able to be re-acquired from DHCP if the MTU (Maximum Transfer Unit) was changed (for an affected interface using the e1000e driver). With this update, frames are no longer dropped and an IP address is correctly re-acquired after a previous release. (BZ#664667)

Users should upgrade to these updated packages, which contain backported patches to correct these issues. 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 x86_64 - Extended Update Support4.8x86_64
Red Hat Enterprise Linux for x86_64 - Extended Update Support4.8ia64
Red Hat Enterprise Linux for x86_64 - Extended Update Support4.8i386
Red Hat Enterprise Linux for Power, big endian4ppc
Red Hat Enterprise Linux for Power, big endian - Extended Update Support4.8ppc
Red Hat Enterprise Linux for IBM z Systems4s390x
Red Hat Enterprise Linux for IBM z Systems4s390
Red Hat Enterprise Linux for IBM z Systems - Extended Update Support4.8s390x
Red Hat Enterprise Linux for IBM z Systems - Extended Update Support4.8s390
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-2.6.9-89.35.1.EL.i686.rpm
  • kernel-2.6.9-89.35.1.EL.x86_64.rpm
  • kernel-smp-2.6.9-89.35.1.EL.i686.rpm
  • kernel-devel-2.6.9-89.35.1.EL.s390x.rpm
  • kernel-2.6.9-89.35.1.EL.src.rpm
  • kernel-doc-2.6.9-89.35.1.EL.noarch.rpm
  • kernel-devel-2.6.9-89.35.1.EL.x86_64.rpm
  • kernel-largesmp-devel-2.6.9-89.35.1.EL.ppc64.rpm
  • kernel-devel-2.6.9-89.35.1.EL.s390.rpm
  • kernel-hugemem-devel-2.6.9-89.35.1.EL.i686.rpm
  • kernel-smp-2.6.9-89.35.1.EL.x86_64.rpm
  • kernel-2.6.9-89.35.1.EL.s390x.rpm
  • kernel-smp-devel-2.6.9-89.35.1.EL.i686.rpm
  • kernel-largesmp-devel-2.6.9-89.35.1.EL.ia64.rpm
  • kernel-devel-2.6.9-89.35.1.EL.i686.rpm
  • kernel-devel-2.6.9-89.35.1.EL.ppc64.rpm
  • kernel-largesmp-2.6.9-89.35.1.EL.x86_64.rpm
  • kernel-xenU-devel-2.6.9-89.35.1.EL.i686.rpm
  • kernel-2.6.9-89.35.1.EL.ia64.rpm
  • kernel-2.6.9-89.35.1.EL.s390.rpm
  • kernel-devel-2.6.9-89.35.1.EL.ia64.rpm
  • kernel-hugemem-2.6.9-89.35.1.EL.i686.rpm
  • kernel-xenU-2.6.9-89.35.1.EL.i686.rpm
  • kernel-largesmp-2.6.9-89.35.1.EL.ia64.rpm
  • kernel-2.6.9-89.35.1.EL.ppc64iseries.rpm
  • kernel-2.6.9-89.35.1.EL.ppc64.rpm
  • kernel-xenU-devel-2.6.9-89.35.1.EL.x86_64.rpm
  • kernel-xenU-2.6.9-89.35.1.EL.x86_64.rpm
  • kernel-smp-devel-2.6.9-89.35.1.EL.x86_64.rpm
  • kernel-largesmp-devel-2.6.9-89.35.1.EL.x86_64.rpm
  • kernel-largesmp-2.6.9-89.35.1.EL.ppc64.rpm
  • kernel-devel-2.6.9-89.35.1.EL.ppc64iseries.rpm

Fixes

CVEs

References

Additional information