Issued:
2011-10-05
Updated:
2011-10-05

RHSA-2011:1350 - 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 several security issues, various bugs, and add one enhancement are now available for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.

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:

  • Flaws in the AGPGART driver implementation when handling certain IOCTL commands could allow a local user to cause a denial of service or escalate their privileges. (CVE-2011-1745, CVE-2011-2022, Important)

  • An integer overflow flaw in agp_allocate_memory() could allow a local user to cause a denial of service or escalate their privileges. (CVE-2011-1746, Important)

  • A race condition flaw was found in the Linux kernel's eCryptfs implementation. A local attacker could use the mount.ecryptfs_private utility to mount (and then access) a directory they would otherwise not have access to. Note: To correct this issue, the RHSA-2011:1241 ecryptfs-utils update, which provides the user-space part of the fix, must also be installed. (CVE-2011-1833, Moderate)

  • A denial of service flaw was found in the way the taskstats subsystem handled the registration of process exit handlers. A local, unprivileged user could register an unlimited amount of these handlers, leading to excessive CPU time and memory use. (CVE-2011-2484, Moderate)

  • A flaw was found in the way mapping expansions were handled. A local, unprivileged user could use this flaw to cause a wrapping condition, triggering a denial of service. (CVE-2011-2496, Moderate)

  • A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's Performance Events implementation. It could falsely lead the NMI (Non-Maskable Interrupt) Watchdog to detect a lockup and panic the system. A local, unprivileged user could use this flaw to cause a denial of service (kernel panic) using the perf tool. (CVE-2011-2521, Moderate)

  • A flaw in skb_gro_header_slow() in the Linux kernel could lead to GRO (Generic Receive Offload) fields being left in an inconsistent state. An attacker on the local network could use this flaw to trigger a denial of service. GRO is enabled by default in all network drivers that support it. (CVE-2011-2723, Moderate)

  • A flaw was found in the way the Linux kernel's Performance Events implementation handled PERF_COUNT_SW_CPU_CLOCK counter overflow. A local, unprivileged user could use this flaw to cause a denial of service. (CVE-2011-2918, Moderate)

  • A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's Trusted Platform Module (TPM) implementation. A local, unprivileged user could use this flaw to leak information to user-space. (CVE-2011-1160, Low)

  • Flaws were found in the tpacket_rcv() and packet_recvmsg() functions in the Linux kernel. A local, unprivileged user could use these flaws to leak information to user-space. (CVE-2011-2898, Low)

Red Hat would like to thank Vasiliy Kulikov of Openwall for reporting CVE-2011-1745, CVE-2011-2022, CVE-2011-1746, and CVE-2011-2484; the Ubuntu Security Team for reporting CVE-2011-1833; Robert Swiecki for reporting CVE-2011-2496; Li Yu for reporting CVE-2011-2521; Brent Meshier for reporting CVE-2011-2723; and Peter Huewe for reporting CVE-2011-1160. The Ubuntu Security Team acknowledges Vasiliy Kulikov of Openwall and Dan Rosenberg as the original reporters of CVE-2011-1833.

This update also fixes various bugs and adds one enhancement. Documentation for these changes 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.https://access.redhat.com/kb/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 Virtual Storage Appliance (from RHUI)6.1x86_64
Red Hat Enterprise Linux for x86_64 - Extended Update Support6.1x86_64
Red Hat Enterprise Linux for x86_64 - Extended Update Support6.1i386
Red Hat Enterprise Linux for Scientific Computing6x86_64
Red Hat Enterprise Linux for Power, big endian6ppc64
Red Hat Enterprise Linux for Power, big endian - Extended Update Support6.1ppc64
Red Hat Enterprise Linux for IBM z Systems6s390x
Red Hat Enterprise Linux for IBM z Systems - Extended Update Support6.1s390x
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation6x86_64
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation6i386
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server6x86_64
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server6i386
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server from RHUI6x86_64
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server from RHUI6i386
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server - Extended Update Support from RHUI6.1x86_64
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server - Extended Update Support from RHUI6.1i386
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server - Extended Life Cycle Support6x86_64
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server - Extended Life Cycle Support6i386
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server - Extended Life Cycle Support Extension6x86_64
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server - Extended Life Cycle Support Extension6i386
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server - Extended Life Cycle Support Extension (for IBM z Systems)6s390x
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server - Extended Life Cycle Support (for IBM z Systems)6s390x
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop6x86_64
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop6i386

Updated Packages

  • kernel-devel-2.6.32-131.17.1.el6.x86_64.rpm
  • kernel-debug-debuginfo-2.6.32-131.17.1.el6.ppc64.rpm
  • kernel-debuginfo-2.6.32-131.17.1.el6.x86_64.rpm
  • perf-debuginfo-2.6.32-131.17.1.el6.x86_64.rpm
  • kernel-devel-2.6.32-131.17.1.el6.i686.rpm
  • kernel-debuginfo-2.6.32-131.17.1.el6.i686.rpm
  • kernel-headers-2.6.32-131.17.1.el6.i686.rpm
  • kernel-debuginfo-common-x86_64-2.6.32-131.17.1.el6.x86_64.rpm
  • kernel-firmware-2.6.32-131.17.1.el6.noarch.rpm
  • kernel-debug-debuginfo-2.6.32-131.17.1.el6.x86_64.rpm
  • perf-debuginfo-2.6.32-131.17.1.el6.i686.rpm
  • kernel-debug-2.6.32-131.17.1.el6.ppc64.rpm
  • perf-debuginfo-2.6.32-131.17.1.el6.s390x.rpm
  • kernel-kdump-devel-2.6.32-131.17.1.el6.s390x.rpm
  • kernel-2.6.32-131.17.1.el6.i686.rpm
  • kernel-debug-2.6.32-131.17.1.el6.x86_64.rpm
  • kernel-debuginfo-2.6.32-131.17.1.el6.ppc64.rpm
  • kernel-2.6.32-131.17.1.el6.x86_64.rpm
  • kernel-debug-devel-2.6.32-131.17.1.el6.ppc64.rpm
  • kernel-kdump-debuginfo-2.6.32-131.17.1.el6.s390x.rpm
  • kernel-headers-2.6.32-131.17.1.el6.x86_64.rpm
  • kernel-debug-debuginfo-2.6.32-131.17.1.el6.i686.rpm
  • perf-2.6.32-131.17.1.el6.i686.rpm
  • kernel-debuginfo-2.6.32-131.17.1.el6.s390x.rpm
  • kernel-debug-devel-2.6.32-131.17.1.el6.s390x.rpm
  • kernel-kdump-2.6.32-131.17.1.el6.s390x.rpm
  • kernel-debug-2.6.32-131.17.1.el6.i686.rpm
  • kernel-2.6.32-131.17.1.el6.src.rpm
  • kernel-devel-2.6.32-131.17.1.el6.s390x.rpm
  • kernel-debug-devel-2.6.32-131.17.1.el6.x86_64.rpm
  • perf-2.6.32-131.17.1.el6.s390x.rpm
  • kernel-debug-2.6.32-131.17.1.el6.s390x.rpm
  • kernel-2.6.32-131.17.1.el6.s390x.rpm
  • kernel-debug-devel-2.6.32-131.17.1.el6.i686.rpm
  • kernel-debuginfo-common-ppc64-2.6.32-131.17.1.el6.ppc64.rpm
  • kernel-bootwrapper-2.6.32-131.17.1.el6.ppc64.rpm
  • kernel-debug-debuginfo-2.6.32-131.17.1.el6.s390x.rpm
  • kernel-headers-2.6.32-131.17.1.el6.s390x.rpm
  • kernel-devel-2.6.32-131.17.1.el6.ppc64.rpm
  • perf-2.6.32-131.17.1.el6.ppc64.rpm
  • kernel-debuginfo-common-i686-2.6.32-131.17.1.el6.i686.rpm
  • kernel-headers-2.6.32-131.17.1.el6.ppc64.rpm
  • kernel-2.6.32-131.17.1.el6.ppc64.rpm
  • perf-debuginfo-2.6.32-131.17.1.el6.ppc64.rpm
  • perf-2.6.32-131.17.1.el6.x86_64.rpm
  • kernel-doc-2.6.32-131.17.1.el6.noarch.rpm
  • kernel-debuginfo-common-s390x-2.6.32-131.17.1.el6.s390x.rpm

Fixes

CVEs

References

Additional information