RHBA-2011:0863 - Bug Fix Advisory

Topic

Updated perl packages that fix two bugs are now available for Red Hat Enterprise
Linux 5.

Description

Perl is a high-level programming language commonly used for system
administration utilities and web programming.

This update fixes the following bug:

• Prior to this update, running the CGI::popup_menu method with a default menu

choice (that is, the "-default" parameter) that contained a plus sign failed to
produce correct HTML output. This update applies a patch that corrects the
underlying option parser, and the presence of the plus sign in the name of the
default menu choice no longer prevents CGI::popup_menu from producing correct
output. (BZ#701631)

• Due to an error in the "threads" module, memory was leaked each time a thread

was detached. Over time, this may have caused long-running threaded Perl
programs to consume a significant amount of memory. With this update, a patch
has been applied to ensure the allocated memory is properly freed when a thread
is detached, and using threads in Perl applications no longer leads to memory
leaks. (BZ#701632)

Users of CGI and threads in Perl programs are advised to upgrade to these
updated packages, which resolve these issues.

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
https://access.redhat.com/kb/docs/DOC-11259

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 for x86_64 - Extended Update Support 5.6 x86_64
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux for x86_64 - Extended Update Support 5.6 ia64
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux for x86_64 - Extended Update Support 5.6 i386
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server - AUS 5.6 x86_64
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server - AUS 5.6 ia64
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server - AUS 5.6 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 IBM z Systems - Extended Update Support 5.6 s390x
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux for Power, big endian 5 ppc
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux for Power, big endian - Extended Update Support 5.6 ppc
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server from RHUI 5 x86_64
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server from RHUI 5 i386
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server - Extended Update Support from RHUI 5.6 x86_64
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server - Extended Update Support from RHUI 5.6 i386

Fixes

• BZ - 701631 - CGI.pm popup_menu if optgroup, $selected is not properly escaped.
• BZ - 701632 - Perl threads leak memory when detached

CVEs

(none)

References

(none)