Issued:: 2012-03-06
Updated:: 2012-03-06

RHSA-2012:0350 - Moderate: kernel security and bug fix update

Synopsis

Moderate: kernel security and bug fix update

Type/Severity

Security Advisory Moderate

Topic

Updated kernel packages that fix various security issues and several bugs are now available for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.

The Red Hat Security Response Team has rated this update as having moderate 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 buffer overflow flaw was found in the way the Linux kernel's XFS file system implementation handled links with overly long path names. A local, unprivileged user could use this flaw to cause a denial of service or escalate their privileges by mounting a specially-crafted disk. (CVE-2011-4077, Moderate)
Flaws in ghash_update() and ghash_final() could allow a local, unprivileged user to cause a denial of service. (CVE-2011-4081, Moderate)
A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's Journaling Block Device (JBD). A local, unprivileged user could use this flaw to crash the system by mounting a specially-crafted ext3 or ext4 disk. (CVE-2011-4132, Moderate)
It was found that the kvm_vm_ioctl_assign_device() function in the KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine) subsystem of a Linux kernel did not check if the user requesting device assignment was privileged or not. A local, unprivileged user on the host could assign unused PCI devices, or even devices that were in use and whose resources were not properly claimed by the respective drivers, which could result in the host crashing. (CVE-2011-4347, Moderate)
Two flaws were found in the way the Linux kernel's __sys_sendmsg() function, when invoked via the sendmmsg() system call, accessed user-space memory. A local, unprivileged user could use these flaws to cause a denial of service. (CVE-2011-4594, Moderate)
The RHSA-2011:1530 kernel update introduced an integer overflow flaw in the Linux kernel. On PowerPC systems, a local, unprivileged user could use this flaw to cause a denial of service. (CVE-2011-4611, Moderate)
A flaw was found in the way the KVM subsystem of a Linux kernel handled PIT (Programmable Interval Timer) IRQs (interrupt requests) when there was no virtual interrupt controller set up. A local, unprivileged user on the host could force this situation to occur, resulting in the host crashing. (CVE-2011-4622, Moderate)
A flaw was found in the way the Linux kernel's XFS file system implementation handled on-disk Access Control Lists (ACLs). A local, unprivileged user could use this flaw to cause a denial of service or escalate their privileges by mounting a specially-crafted disk. (CVE-2012-0038, Moderate)
A flaw was found in the way the Linux kernel's KVM hypervisor implementation emulated the syscall instruction for 32-bit guests. An unprivileged guest user could trigger this flaw to crash the guest. (CVE-2012-0045, Moderate)
A divide-by-zero flaw was found in the Linux kernel's igmp_heard_query() function. An attacker able to send certain IGMP (Internet Group Management Protocol) packets to a target system could use this flaw to cause a denial of service. (CVE-2012-0207, Moderate)

Red Hat would like to thank Nick Bowler for reporting CVE-2011-4081; Sasha Levin for reporting CVE-2011-4347; Tetsuo Handa for reporting CVE-2011-4594; Maynard Johnson for reporting CVE-2011-4611; Wang Xi for reporting CVE-2012-0038; Stephan Bärwolf for reporting CVE-2012-0045; and Simon McVittie for reporting CVE-2012-0207. Upstream acknowledges Mathieu Desnoyers as the original reporter of CVE-2011-4594.

This update also fixes several bugs. 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 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 https://access.redhat.com/knowledge/articles/11258

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

Product	Version	Arch
Red Hat Storage	2.0	x86_64
Red Hat Storage for Public Cloud (via RHUI)	2.0	x86_64
Red Hat Gluster Storage Server for On-premise	2.0	x86_64
Red Hat Enterprise Linux for x86_64 - Extended Update Support	6.2	x86_64
Red Hat Enterprise Linux for x86_64 - Extended Update Support	6.2	i386
Red Hat Enterprise Linux for Scientific Computing	6	x86_64
Red Hat Enterprise Linux for Power, big endian	6	ppc64
Red Hat Enterprise Linux for Power, big endian - Extended Update Support	6.2	ppc64
Red Hat Enterprise Linux for IBM z Systems	6	s390x
Red Hat Enterprise Linux for IBM z Systems - Extended Update Support	6.2	s390x
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation	6	x86_64
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation	6	i386
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server	6	x86_64
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server	6	i386
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server from RHUI	6	x86_64
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server from RHUI	6	i386
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server - Retired Extended Life Cycle Support	6	x86_64
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server - Extended Update Support from RHUI	6.2	x86_64
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server - Extended Update Support from RHUI	6.2	i386
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server - Extended Life Cycle Support	6	x86_64
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server - Extended Life Cycle Support	6	i386
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server - Extended Life Cycle Support Extension	6	x86_64
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server - Extended Life Cycle Support Extension	6	i386
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server - Extended Life Cycle Support Extension (for IBM z Systems)	6	s390x
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server - Extended Life Cycle Support (for IBM z Systems)	6	s390x
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server - AUS	6.2	x86_64
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop	6	x86_64
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop	6	i386

Updated Packages

kernel-2.6.32-220.7.1.el6.x86_64.rpm
kernel-debug-debuginfo-2.6.32-220.7.1.el6.x86_64.rpm
perf-2.6.32-220.7.1.el6.x86_64.rpm
python-perf-2.6.32-220.7.1.el6.ppc64.rpm
kernel-headers-2.6.32-220.7.1.el6.ppc64.rpm
python-perf-2.6.32-220.7.1.el6.i686.rpm
kernel-debug-debuginfo-2.6.32-220.7.1.el6.s390x.rpm
kernel-debuginfo-2.6.32-220.7.1.el6.s390x.rpm
perf-debuginfo-2.6.32-220.7.1.el6.x86_64.rpm
kernel-debug-debuginfo-2.6.32-220.7.1.el6.ppc64.rpm
kernel-2.6.32-220.7.1.el6.src.rpm
kernel-doc-2.6.32-220.7.1.el6.noarch.rpm
kernel-2.6.32-220.7.1.el6.ppc64.rpm
perf-2.6.32-220.7.1.el6.i686.rpm
kernel-debug-debuginfo-2.6.32-220.7.1.el6.i686.rpm
kernel-debuginfo-2.6.32-220.7.1.el6.x86_64.rpm
perf-debuginfo-2.6.32-220.7.1.el6.i686.rpm
kernel-debuginfo-common-x86_64-2.6.32-220.7.1.el6.x86_64.rpm
kernel-bootwrapper-2.6.32-220.7.1.el6.ppc64.rpm
kernel-debuginfo-common-i686-2.6.32-220.7.1.el6.i686.rpm
kernel-devel-2.6.32-220.7.1.el6.ppc64.rpm
kernel-debuginfo-common-s390x-2.6.32-220.7.1.el6.s390x.rpm
kernel-kdump-devel-2.6.32-220.7.1.el6.s390x.rpm
kernel-headers-2.6.32-220.7.1.el6.i686.rpm
kernel-2.6.32-220.7.1.el6.s390x.rpm
kernel-headers-2.6.32-220.7.1.el6.x86_64.rpm
kernel-debuginfo-common-ppc64-2.6.32-220.7.1.el6.ppc64.rpm
perf-debuginfo-2.6.32-220.7.1.el6.ppc64.rpm
perf-debuginfo-2.6.32-220.7.1.el6.s390x.rpm
kernel-debug-2.6.32-220.7.1.el6.x86_64.rpm
kernel-2.6.32-220.7.1.el6.i686.rpm
kernel-debug-devel-2.6.32-220.7.1.el6.s390x.rpm
kernel-headers-2.6.32-220.7.1.el6.s390x.rpm
kernel-kdump-2.6.32-220.7.1.el6.s390x.rpm
kernel-kdump-debuginfo-2.6.32-220.7.1.el6.s390x.rpm
kernel-debug-devel-2.6.32-220.7.1.el6.x86_64.rpm
python-perf-2.6.32-220.7.1.el6.s390x.rpm
kernel-debug-devel-2.6.32-220.7.1.el6.i686.rpm
kernel-devel-2.6.32-220.7.1.el6.x86_64.rpm
python-perf-2.6.32-220.7.1.el6.x86_64.rpm
kernel-debug-devel-2.6.32-220.7.1.el6.ppc64.rpm
kernel-debug-2.6.32-220.7.1.el6.s390x.rpm
kernel-debug-2.6.32-220.7.1.el6.i686.rpm
kernel-firmware-2.6.32-220.7.1.el6.noarch.rpm
kernel-devel-2.6.32-220.7.1.el6.i686.rpm
kernel-debuginfo-2.6.32-220.7.1.el6.ppc64.rpm
kernel-debug-2.6.32-220.7.1.el6.ppc64.rpm
kernel-debuginfo-2.6.32-220.7.1.el6.i686.rpm
perf-2.6.32-220.7.1.el6.ppc64.rpm
kernel-devel-2.6.32-220.7.1.el6.s390x.rpm
perf-2.6.32-220.7.1.el6.s390x.rpm

Fixes

CVEs

References

Additional information

The Red Hat security contact is This content is not included.secalert@redhat.com. More contact details at https://access.redhat.com/security/team/contact/.
Offline Security Data data is available for integration with other systems. See Offline Security Data API to get started.