Synopsis

mkinitrd bug fix and enhancement update

Type/Severity

Bug Fix Advisory

Topic

Updated mkinitrd packages that fix several bugs and add enhancements are
now available.

Description

The mkinitrd utility creates file system images for use as initial ramdisk
(initrd) images.

This update includes fixes for the following bugs:

• the mkinitrd man page for the "--omit-scsi-modules" option has been
  revised, with the following sentence added to the documentation:
  

"If the root partition is on a scsi device, mkinitrd will still include the
necessary scsi modules to support that device."

• previously, mkinitrd set the permission level of the "/dev" directory to
  0755. With this update mkinitrd now ensures that the permissions of this
  directory is 1777.
  
• the NFS mount options provided by nash were incomplete. With this update,
  the standard NFS mount options are now fully implemented in nash.
  
• mkinitrd was not including the kernel modules dm-mem-cache.ko,
  dm-region_hash.ko, dm-message.ko and dm-raid45.ko when creating the initrd
  image on a system using RAID5. Consequently, the kernel would panic during
  initial bootup. With this update mkinitrd has been corrected to include
  these modules, which resolves this issue.
  
• mkinitrd was not allowing enough time to scan SCSI devices before
  scanning for logical volumes. With this update this timeout value has been
  increased to 10 seconds.
  
• on IBM System z machines, the new-kernel-pkg script was truncating the
  labels of the kernel entries in zipl.conf to 15 characters. Consequently,
  if two kernel labels were identical in the first 15 characters, an error
  message like the following would be returned:
  

Error: Config file '/etc/zipl.conf': Line 8: section name '2.6.18-53.1.4.e'
already specified

With this update, this limit has been increased to 256 characters, which
resolves this issue.

• a bug that could sometimes prevent mkinitrd from updating the kernel is
  now fixed. In previous releases, mkinitrd could hang while installing a
  new kernel, resulting in a 'line 368: cd: slaves: No such file
  or directory' error. This was because findstoragedriverinsys() function
  incorrectly tried to access an inexistent /sys/block/hda/hda2/slaves/
  directory.
  

The following enhancements are provided by this update:

• mkinitrd now supports %posttrans and %preun hooks, which run specific
  Dynamic Kernel Module Support (DKMS) scripts when a new kernel is installed
  (or if a kernel package is removed). These scripts both compile and remove
  drivers automatically. When a new kernel is installed, they automatically
  compile the drivers they reference. When a kernel package is removed, they
  automatically remove the drivers they previously compiled.
  
• with this update, mkinitrd now supports encrypted block devices.
  
• support has been added to mkinitrd to allow booting from KVM Virtio
  devices.
  
• with this update mkinitrd now supports iSCSI devices with multipath
  configurations.
  
• The build requires dependency for mkinitrd has been updated to ensure
  that the libdhcp-devel package is version 1.21 or newer.
  

Users of mkinitrd are advised to upgrade to these updated packages, which
resolve these issues and add these enhancements.

Solution

Before applying this update, make sure that all previously-released
errata relevant to your system have been applied.

This update is available via Red Hat Network. Details on how to use
the Red Hat Network to apply this update are available at
http://kbase.redhat.com/faq/FAQ_58_10188

Affected Products

• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server 5 x86_64
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server 5 ia64
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server 5 i386
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation 5 x86_64
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation 5 i386
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop 5 x86_64
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop 5 i386
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux for IBM z Systems 5 s390x
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux for Power, big endian 5 ppc
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server from RHUI 5 x86_64
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server from RHUI 5 i386

Fixes

• BZ - 426992 - kernel-debug and kernel packages use the same label in zipl.conf
• BZ - 444973 - nash nfsmount doesn't respect mount options + proposed patch
• BZ - 447375 - [Netapp 5.3 bug] mkinitrd doesn't provide complete support for SANBoot.(root on multipath iSCSI).
• BZ - 447841 - prevents new kernels from installing
• BZ - 451670 - mkinitrd does not support encrypted block devices
• BZ - 461850 - mkinitd doesn't wait for scsi to come up
• BZ - 464636 - scsi scan not waiting long enough
• BZ - 467839 - mkinitrd doesn't know how to handle encrypted CCISS devices
• BZ - 471689 - RHEL 5.3 Snapshot 2 fails to activate sw raid devices, unable to install to sw raid mirror
• BZ - 476866 - mkinitrd fails to include the correct modules when creating initrd image for raid5

CVEs

(none)

References

(none)

Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server 5

SRPM
mkinitrd-5.1.19.6-44.src.rpm	SHA-256: 66a3c38fc4713e5adbfb9641c42e852870c69d0f5f7bf3c32941af0f6f725fa2
x86_64
libbdevid-python-5.1.19.6-44.x86_64.rpm	SHA-256: b03acd75024e2fa4f9fd0b54b1ee9112e68d851a8080780f846203b8b6a20437
mkinitrd-5.1.19.6-44.i386.rpm	SHA-256: 9d2ac92d82deb31c0eb4fdad5d3d8ce7debe5e35cfdece1ba3632d87794a099c
mkinitrd-5.1.19.6-44.x86_64.rpm	SHA-256: 5c95696c60174da494dc6e60cfebd008721ae83e7de31feae36384542e572bae
mkinitrd-devel-5.1.19.6-44.i386.rpm	SHA-256: f01c34c42a577d58761070d3172c7556ba7074606b5504afb904066914efd014
mkinitrd-devel-5.1.19.6-44.x86_64.rpm	SHA-256: a93da914ed5cdd29007927514e1801722ab83c1c0d32b7d8141628dec7397978
nash-5.1.19.6-44.x86_64.rpm	SHA-256: 6af13371eb4f6a59f2144c8a91f513b571cb83d6d33ecd17666398de87acac63
ia64
libbdevid-python-5.1.19.6-44.ia64.rpm	SHA-256: 94318fa3e54cd7015984594b13560be2b9a910bcc993f69cbe1f45f74a2f6bcf
mkinitrd-5.1.19.6-44.ia64.rpm	SHA-256: 2211d586c99c80fc22808476ae605dbf4849e1b45593ad8e5637dc5b96173782
mkinitrd-devel-5.1.19.6-44.ia64.rpm	SHA-256: 09eae6fa2dc0da7d1770ef7fa5f4cf6900bcf695c8ac73ecfcf97101338ead88
nash-5.1.19.6-44.ia64.rpm	SHA-256: 8299ba22c127fa7be594ebf25d4c1f3638e8b0338b8d760cd8cbafbd996bd3aa
i386
libbdevid-python-5.1.19.6-44.i386.rpm	SHA-256: 44ef4e0571f89914ff5f6d524ecf62ea3bc2515350987c39beeef2e149b0d1c0
mkinitrd-5.1.19.6-44.i386.rpm	SHA-256: 9d2ac92d82deb31c0eb4fdad5d3d8ce7debe5e35cfdece1ba3632d87794a099c
mkinitrd-devel-5.1.19.6-44.i386.rpm	SHA-256: f01c34c42a577d58761070d3172c7556ba7074606b5504afb904066914efd014
nash-5.1.19.6-44.i386.rpm	SHA-256: d611b9b11bb5184f51a55e8aec484fabb458794a4ca3aad8509fccf04ee73bf8

Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation 5

SRPM
mkinitrd-5.1.19.6-44.src.rpm	SHA-256: 66a3c38fc4713e5adbfb9641c42e852870c69d0f5f7bf3c32941af0f6f725fa2
x86_64
libbdevid-python-5.1.19.6-44.x86_64.rpm	SHA-256: b03acd75024e2fa4f9fd0b54b1ee9112e68d851a8080780f846203b8b6a20437
mkinitrd-5.1.19.6-44.i386.rpm	SHA-256: 9d2ac92d82deb31c0eb4fdad5d3d8ce7debe5e35cfdece1ba3632d87794a099c
mkinitrd-5.1.19.6-44.x86_64.rpm	SHA-256: 5c95696c60174da494dc6e60cfebd008721ae83e7de31feae36384542e572bae
mkinitrd-devel-5.1.19.6-44.i386.rpm	SHA-256: f01c34c42a577d58761070d3172c7556ba7074606b5504afb904066914efd014
mkinitrd-devel-5.1.19.6-44.x86_64.rpm	SHA-256: a93da914ed5cdd29007927514e1801722ab83c1c0d32b7d8141628dec7397978
nash-5.1.19.6-44.x86_64.rpm	SHA-256: 6af13371eb4f6a59f2144c8a91f513b571cb83d6d33ecd17666398de87acac63
i386
libbdevid-python-5.1.19.6-44.i386.rpm	SHA-256: 44ef4e0571f89914ff5f6d524ecf62ea3bc2515350987c39beeef2e149b0d1c0
mkinitrd-5.1.19.6-44.i386.rpm	SHA-256: 9d2ac92d82deb31c0eb4fdad5d3d8ce7debe5e35cfdece1ba3632d87794a099c
mkinitrd-devel-5.1.19.6-44.i386.rpm	SHA-256: f01c34c42a577d58761070d3172c7556ba7074606b5504afb904066914efd014
nash-5.1.19.6-44.i386.rpm	SHA-256: d611b9b11bb5184f51a55e8aec484fabb458794a4ca3aad8509fccf04ee73bf8

Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop 5

SRPM
mkinitrd-5.1.19.6-44.src.rpm	SHA-256: 66a3c38fc4713e5adbfb9641c42e852870c69d0f5f7bf3c32941af0f6f725fa2
x86_64
libbdevid-python-5.1.19.6-44.x86_64.rpm	SHA-256: b03acd75024e2fa4f9fd0b54b1ee9112e68d851a8080780f846203b8b6a20437
mkinitrd-5.1.19.6-44.i386.rpm	SHA-256: 9d2ac92d82deb31c0eb4fdad5d3d8ce7debe5e35cfdece1ba3632d87794a099c
mkinitrd-5.1.19.6-44.x86_64.rpm	SHA-256: 5c95696c60174da494dc6e60cfebd008721ae83e7de31feae36384542e572bae
nash-5.1.19.6-44.x86_64.rpm	SHA-256: 6af13371eb4f6a59f2144c8a91f513b571cb83d6d33ecd17666398de87acac63
i386
libbdevid-python-5.1.19.6-44.i386.rpm	SHA-256: 44ef4e0571f89914ff5f6d524ecf62ea3bc2515350987c39beeef2e149b0d1c0
mkinitrd-5.1.19.6-44.i386.rpm	SHA-256: 9d2ac92d82deb31c0eb4fdad5d3d8ce7debe5e35cfdece1ba3632d87794a099c
nash-5.1.19.6-44.i386.rpm	SHA-256: d611b9b11bb5184f51a55e8aec484fabb458794a4ca3aad8509fccf04ee73bf8

Red Hat Enterprise Linux for IBM z Systems 5

SRPM
mkinitrd-5.1.19.6-44.src.rpm	SHA-256: 66a3c38fc4713e5adbfb9641c42e852870c69d0f5f7bf3c32941af0f6f725fa2
s390x
libbdevid-python-5.1.19.6-44.s390x.rpm	SHA-256: be99ad9f6348c6ee02c43b24a0fa8a4b95bd1ad0d293a05c586addf8add4e30f
mkinitrd-5.1.19.6-44.s390.rpm	SHA-256: 50dc37ddc7be5d7307c725f894f6272c68ac5305befb0762554e5cbf8dd67198
mkinitrd-5.1.19.6-44.s390x.rpm	SHA-256: 0344f4102d328cc9a7ab6a9da08374c3711fa0ba63165bde3d49cb7fd7fcb659
mkinitrd-devel-5.1.19.6-44.s390.rpm	SHA-256: 59f62c4c15d74fbbeab5c0bcc62ac3cf3220d4adc0291d54c580ceb1e373516a
mkinitrd-devel-5.1.19.6-44.s390x.rpm	SHA-256: fcbeaa260626ee78db3d0f4a967ab546de4a5b26f8459f1115dc7bc61ffc19f8
nash-5.1.19.6-44.s390x.rpm	SHA-256: c376207aeb8dcfcfcac7915413ee65938fc5dab793390d4dbee35bae58f78433

Red Hat Enterprise Linux for Power, big endian 5

SRPM
mkinitrd-5.1.19.6-44.src.rpm	SHA-256: 66a3c38fc4713e5adbfb9641c42e852870c69d0f5f7bf3c32941af0f6f725fa2
ppc
libbdevid-python-5.1.19.6-44.ppc.rpm	SHA-256: acb8ba4f0101e73f8b150543e099883067b4bef7868ebcd93861e0e5ab26ed7e
mkinitrd-5.1.19.6-44.ppc.rpm	SHA-256: e17b9184bddb0d8e26f48969e1a458c86f60617633060e74f3e6eb90b34f80d0
mkinitrd-5.1.19.6-44.ppc64.rpm	SHA-256: 789a0c4686ef749fb98d6a4c02c87b7513369a4fea7ed68c36c366ef25aec8d5
mkinitrd-devel-5.1.19.6-44.ppc.rpm	SHA-256: 8ea4040fd24c00940d6f37909b3f1c97328b4f6d16bcc438cb099528d9f4a443
mkinitrd-devel-5.1.19.6-44.ppc64.rpm	SHA-256: 2b6de8df074c0ec3156d6a1f79f12f56ef2c0d720c5518bdf6aa661b13e070f8
nash-5.1.19.6-44.ppc.rpm	SHA-256: 0ba97fa804a88e8bb987ebf2a068b49f5bc2abaab87e549129c9cd7040156347

Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server from RHUI 5

SRPM
mkinitrd-5.1.19.6-44.src.rpm	SHA-256: 66a3c38fc4713e5adbfb9641c42e852870c69d0f5f7bf3c32941af0f6f725fa2
x86_64
libbdevid-python-5.1.19.6-44.x86_64.rpm	SHA-256: b03acd75024e2fa4f9fd0b54b1ee9112e68d851a8080780f846203b8b6a20437
mkinitrd-5.1.19.6-44.i386.rpm	SHA-256: 9d2ac92d82deb31c0eb4fdad5d3d8ce7debe5e35cfdece1ba3632d87794a099c
mkinitrd-5.1.19.6-44.x86_64.rpm	SHA-256: 5c95696c60174da494dc6e60cfebd008721ae83e7de31feae36384542e572bae
mkinitrd-devel-5.1.19.6-44.i386.rpm	SHA-256: f01c34c42a577d58761070d3172c7556ba7074606b5504afb904066914efd014
mkinitrd-devel-5.1.19.6-44.x86_64.rpm	SHA-256: a93da914ed5cdd29007927514e1801722ab83c1c0d32b7d8141628dec7397978
nash-5.1.19.6-44.x86_64.rpm	SHA-256: 6af13371eb4f6a59f2144c8a91f513b571cb83d6d33ecd17666398de87acac63
i386
libbdevid-python-5.1.19.6-44.i386.rpm	SHA-256: 44ef4e0571f89914ff5f6d524ecf62ea3bc2515350987c39beeef2e149b0d1c0
mkinitrd-5.1.19.6-44.i386.rpm	SHA-256: 9d2ac92d82deb31c0eb4fdad5d3d8ce7debe5e35cfdece1ba3632d87794a099c
mkinitrd-devel-5.1.19.6-44.i386.rpm	SHA-256: f01c34c42a577d58761070d3172c7556ba7074606b5504afb904066914efd014
nash-5.1.19.6-44.i386.rpm	SHA-256: d611b9b11bb5184f51a55e8aec484fabb458794a4ca3aad8509fccf04ee73bf8