RHBA-2012:0188 - Bug Fix Advisory

Topic

An updated net-tools package that fixes multiple bugs is now available for Red
Hat Enterprise Linux 5.

Description

The net-tools package contains basic networking tools, including ifconfig,
netstat, or route. Netstat, for example, prints information about the Linux
networking subsystem.

This update fixes the following bugs:

• Previously, the "hostname -s" command returned the "hostname: Unknown host"

error message on a host if a host name was not resolved in DNS (Domain Name
System). The utility has been modified and now always returns a short host name
instead of the error message. (BZ#319981)

• Previously, the mii-tool command displayed an I/O error on a network interface

if the Intel e1000e driver was used. With this update, the tool is modified to
only check generic Media Independent Interface (MII) registers defined in
linux/mii.h. Now, the error message is no longer displayed. (BZ#531980)

• Previously, net-tools incorrectly used 32-bit integers for 64-bit

architectures. As a result, certain entries in the "lpExt" section were
displayed with negative values when running the "netstat -s" command. With this
update, integers on 64-bit architectures are handled properly and the "netstat

• s" command now produces the correct output. (BZ#622734)
• Prior to this update, the netstat utility could terminate unexpectedly with a

stack smashing message when running the "netstat -nr -A inet6" command and
/proc/net/ipv6_route contained lines of different length. With this update, the
code that reads the content of /proc/net/ipv6_route is fixed and netstat no
longer displays lpExt entries with negative values. (BZ#668047)

• Prior to this update, the route(8) manual page did not clearly describe that

the "mss" option can set the maximum transmission unit (MTU) value. With this
update, the route(8) manual page now includes a detailed description of the
"mss" option. (BZ#699698)

• Prior to this update, the "netstat -p" command incorrectly displayed a number

instead of the program name in the PID/Program name column. With this update,
the code is modified and the command now correctly displays the program name.
(BZ#707427)

• Prior to this update, several command line options were missing from the

plipconfig(8) manual page. This update modifies the SYNOPSIS section and the
usage output of the plipconfig command to add these missing options. (BZ#707460)

• The netstat utility truncated IPv6 (Internet Protocol version 6) UDP sockets

even if the "--notrim" or "-T" option was specified. With this update, complete
IPv6 addresses are displayed for UDP sockets when using netstat with one of
these options. (BZ#732983)

All users of net-tools are advised to upgrade to this updated package, which
fixes these bugs.

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/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 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 - 319981 - hostname -s gives hostname: Unknown host when the FQDN does not resolve
• BZ - 531980 - Get input/output error when using mii-tool on rhel 5.4
• BZ - 668047 - /proc/net/ipv6_route broken, causes netstat to segfault
• BZ - 699698 - route command option mss sets MTU
• BZ - 707427 - netstat cannot show program name correctly with "netstat -antuvp" command

CVEs

(none)

References

(none)