RHBA-2012:1162 - Bug Fix Advisory

Topic

An updated xinetd package that fixes one bug is now available for Red Hat
Enterprise Linux 6.

Description

Xinetd is a secure replacement for inetd, the Internet services daemon. Xinetd
provides access control for all services based on the address of the remote host
and/or on time of access, and can prevent denial-of-access attacks. Xinetd
provides extensive logging, has no limit on the number of server arguments, and
allows users to bind specific services to specific IP addresses on a host
machine. Each service has its own specific configuration file for Xinetd; the
files are located in the /etc/xinetd.d directory.

This update fixes the following bug:

• Due to incorrect handling of a file descriptor array in the service.c source

file, some of the descriptors remained open when xinetd was under heavy load.
Additionally, the system log was filled with a large number of messages that
took up a lot of disk space over time. This bug has been fixed in the code,
xinetd now handles the file descriptors correctly and no longer fills the system
log. (BZ#841916)

All users of xinetd are advised to upgrade to this updated package, which fixes
this bug.

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 6 x86_64
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server 6 i386
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux for x86_64 - Extended Update Support 6.3 x86_64
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux for x86_64 - Extended Update Support 6.3 i386
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server - Extended Life Cycle Support 6 i386
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation 6 x86_64
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation 6 i386
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop 6 x86_64
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop 6 i386
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux for IBM z Systems 6 s390x
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux for IBM z Systems - Extended Update Support 6.3 s390x
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux for Power, big endian 6 ppc64
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux for Power, big endian - Extended Update Support 6.3 ppc64
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux for Scientific Computing 6 x86_64
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server from RHUI 6 x86_64
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server from RHUI 6 i386
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server - Extended Life Cycle Support 6 x86_64
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server - Extended Life Cycle Support (for IBM z Systems) 6 s390x
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server - Extended Update Support from RHUI 6.3 x86_64
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server - Extended Update Support from RHUI 6.3 i386
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server - Extended Life Cycle Support Extension 6 x86_64
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server - Extended Life Cycle Support Extension 6 i386
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server - Extended Life Cycle Support Extension (for IBM z Systems) 6 s390x

Fixes

• BZ - 841916 - xinetd leaking file descriptors

CVEs

(none)

References

(none)