Issued:
2013-11-21
Updated:
2013-11-21

RHSA-2013:1553 - Important: qemu-kvm security, bug fix, and enhancement update

Synopsis

Important: qemu-kvm security, bug fix, and enhancement update

Type/Severity

Security Advisory Important

Topic

Updated qemu-kvm packages that fix one security issue, several bugs, and add various enhancements are now available for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.

The Red Hat Security Response Team has rated this update as having important 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

KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine) is a full virtualization solution for Linux on AMD64 and Intel 64 systems that is built into the standard Red Hat Enterprise Linux kernel. The qemu-kvm packages form the user-space component for running virtual machines using KVM.

A buffer overflow flaw was found in the way QEMU processed the SCSI "REPORT LUNS" command when more than 256 LUNs were specified for a single SCSI target. A privileged guest user could use this flaw to corrupt QEMU process memory on the host, which could potentially result in arbitrary code execution on the host with the privileges of the QEMU process. (CVE-2013-4344)

This issue was discovered by Asias He of Red Hat.

These updated qemu-kvm packages include numerous bug fixes and various enhancements. Space precludes documenting all of these changes in this advisory. Users are directed to the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.5 Technical Notes, linked to in the References, for information on the most significant of these changes.

All qemu-kvm users are advised to upgrade to these updated packages, which contain backported patches to correct these issues and add these enhancements. After installing this update, shut down all running virtual machines. Once all virtual machines have shut down, start them again 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/site/articles/11258

Affected Products

ProductVersionArch
Red Hat Enterprise Linux for Scientific Computing6x86_64
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 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 Desktop6x86_64
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop6i386

Updated Packages

  • qemu-kvm-tools-0.12.1.2-2.415.el6.x86_64.rpm
  • qemu-kvm-0.12.1.2-2.415.el6.src.rpm
  • qemu-kvm-debuginfo-0.12.1.2-2.415.el6.i686.rpm
  • qemu-kvm-debuginfo-0.12.1.2-2.415.el6.x86_64.rpm
  • qemu-guest-agent-0.12.1.2-2.415.el6.i686.rpm
  • qemu-guest-agent-0.12.1.2-2.415.el6.x86_64.rpm
  • qemu-kvm-0.12.1.2-2.415.el6.x86_64.rpm
  • qemu-img-0.12.1.2-2.415.el6.x86_64.rpm

Fixes

CVEs

References

Additional information