Issued:
2012-04-24
Updated:
2012-04-24

RHSA-2012:0517 - 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 one security issue and one bug are now available for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.6 Extended Update Support.

The Red Hat Security Response Team has rated this update as having moderate security impact. A Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) base score, which gives a detailed severity rating, is available from the CVE link 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 issue:

  • A flaw was found in the Linux kernel in the way splitting two extents in ext4_ext_convert_to_initialized() worked. A local, unprivileged user with the ability to mount and unmount ext4 file systems could use this flaw to cause a denial of service. (CVE-2011-3638, Moderate)

Red Hat would like to thank Zheng Liu for reporting this issue.

This update also fixes the following bug:

  • Starting with Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.6, all devices that used the ixgbe driver would stop stripping VLAN tags when the device entered promiscuous mode. Placing a device in a bridge group causes the device to enter promiscuous mode. This caused various issues under certain configurations of bridging and VLANs. A patch has been provided to address this issue and the devices now properly strip VLAN tags in the driver whether in promiscuous mode or not. (BZ#809790)

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 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

ProductVersionArch
Red Hat Enterprise Linux for x86_64 - Extended Update Support5.6x86_64
Red Hat Enterprise Linux for x86_64 - Extended Update Support5.6ia64
Red Hat Enterprise Linux for x86_64 - Extended Update Support5.6i386
Red Hat Enterprise Linux for Power, big endian - Extended Update Support5.6ppc
Red Hat Enterprise Linux for IBM z Systems - Extended Update Support5.6s390x
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server - Extended Update Support from RHUI5.6x86_64
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server - Extended Update Support from RHUI5.6i386
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server - AUS5.6x86_64
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server - AUS5.6ia64
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server - AUS5.6i386

Updated Packages

  • kernel-kdump-2.6.18-238.37.1.el5.s390x.rpm
  • kernel-debug-2.6.18-238.37.1.el5.s390x.rpm
  • kernel-devel-2.6.18-238.37.1.el5.x86_64.rpm
  • kernel-2.6.18-238.37.1.el5.i686.rpm
  • kernel-kdump-2.6.18-238.37.1.el5.ppc64.rpm
  • kernel-xen-2.6.18-238.37.1.el5.x86_64.rpm
  • kernel-debug-devel-2.6.18-238.37.1.el5.s390x.rpm
  • kernel-PAE-2.6.18-238.37.1.el5.i686.rpm
  • kernel-2.6.18-238.37.1.el5.ia64.rpm
  • kernel-devel-2.6.18-238.37.1.el5.ia64.rpm
  • kernel-debug-2.6.18-238.37.1.el5.i686.rpm
  • kernel-2.6.18-238.37.1.el5.ppc64.rpm
  • kernel-xen-2.6.18-238.37.1.el5.ia64.rpm
  • kernel-xen-2.6.18-238.37.1.el5.i686.rpm
  • kernel-2.6.18-238.37.1.el5.src.rpm
  • kernel-debug-2.6.18-238.37.1.el5.ppc64.rpm
  • kernel-headers-2.6.18-238.37.1.el5.i386.rpm
  • kernel-kdump-devel-2.6.18-238.37.1.el5.ppc64.rpm
  • kernel-debug-devel-2.6.18-238.37.1.el5.ppc64.rpm
  • kernel-headers-2.6.18-238.37.1.el5.ppc.rpm
  • kernel-devel-2.6.18-238.37.1.el5.s390x.rpm
  • kernel-PAE-devel-2.6.18-238.37.1.el5.i686.rpm
  • kernel-debug-2.6.18-238.37.1.el5.ia64.rpm
  • kernel-xen-devel-2.6.18-238.37.1.el5.x86_64.rpm
  • kernel-headers-2.6.18-238.37.1.el5.s390x.rpm
  • kernel-headers-2.6.18-238.37.1.el5.x86_64.rpm
  • kernel-headers-2.6.18-238.37.1.el5.ppc64.rpm
  • kernel-headers-2.6.18-238.37.1.el5.ia64.rpm
  • kernel-debug-2.6.18-238.37.1.el5.x86_64.rpm
  • kernel-2.6.18-238.37.1.el5.x86_64.rpm
  • kernel-xen-devel-2.6.18-238.37.1.el5.ia64.rpm
  • kernel-xen-devel-2.6.18-238.37.1.el5.i686.rpm
  • kernel-debug-devel-2.6.18-238.37.1.el5.i686.rpm
  • kernel-devel-2.6.18-238.37.1.el5.i686.rpm
  • kernel-devel-2.6.18-238.37.1.el5.ppc64.rpm
  • kernel-kdump-devel-2.6.18-238.37.1.el5.s390x.rpm
  • kernel-debug-devel-2.6.18-238.37.1.el5.ia64.rpm
  • kernel-doc-2.6.18-238.37.1.el5.noarch.rpm
  • kernel-2.6.18-238.37.1.el5.s390x.rpm
  • kernel-debug-devel-2.6.18-238.37.1.el5.x86_64.rpm

Fixes

CVEs

References

Additional information