RHBA-2014:1597 - Bug Fix Advisory

Topic

Updated mdadm packages that fix several bugs and add various enhancements are
now available for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.

Description

The mdadm packages contain a utility for creating, managing, and monitoring
Linux multiple disk (MD) devices.

The mdadm packages have been upgraded to upstream version 3.3, which provides a
number of bug fixes and enhancements over the previous version, including
performance improvements. (BZ#1030606)

This update also fixes the following bugs:

• Previously, the permissions on the /etc/cron.d/raid-check file were not

sufficiently strict. This update modifies the permissions, allowing only the
administrator to read the script stored in /etc/cron.d/raid-check. (BZ#1012505)

• Previously, the mdadm utility did not work correctly when a disk failed in an

Intel Matrix Storage Manager (IMSM) RAID volume. Consequently, the failed disk
was removed neither from the volume nor from the container, the volume was not
in the "degraded" state, and the rebuild could not start. With this update,
mdadm handles failed disks in RAID volumes properly. (BZ#1040006)

• Previously, the mdadm utility did not apply the "path=*" directive from the

/etc/mdadm.conf file when working with SATA devices. Consequently,
mdadm searched for the /dev/disk/by-path/ directory that was not created by the
udev utility. The bug has been fixed and mdadm no longer ignores the "path=*"
directive for SATA devices. (BZ#1059193)

• Prior to this update, the mdadm utility did not properly verify missing

devices when creating an IMSM array. Consequently, when mdadm attempted to
create an IMSM array with missing devices, it terminated unexpectedly with a
segmentation fault. With this update, missing devices are verified correctly and
creating an array with missing devices now works as intended. (BZ#1059307)

• Previously, when the mdadm thread that monitored the reshaping operation of a

disk array was terminated by the SIGTERM signal, it did not clear the suspended
data region of the array. As a consequence, the data on the array could become
corrupted. With this update, the mdadm thread terminates cleanly and can no
longer cause data corruption. (BZ#1059316)

• Previously, when installing on a system with only the second SATA controller

having RSTe mode enabled in UEFI mode, mdadm would not detect the RAID volumes,
and installation to them would not be possible. With this update, mdadm
correctly detects the RAID volumes and installation to the volumes can happen.
(BZ#1075529)

• Prior to this update, the mdadm utility failed to create an Intel RAID volume

when component size was larger than 100GiB. This problem occurred on RAID level
1, 5, and 10. This bug has been fixed and Intel RAID volumes can now be created
successfully in the described case. (BZ#1136868)

• Previously, when the mdadm utility was used to reshape RAID0 and RAID5 volumes

created with the Intel Matrix Storage Manager (IMSM) utility, a race condition
between the mdadm and mdmon utilities occurred. The reshape operation therefore
failed to start. This update prevents the race condition and mdadn can now
reshape IMSM modules without complications. (BZ#1136880)

• RAIDs created with the Intel Matrix Storage Manager (IMSM) utility do not

support spanning between different controllers. Under certain circumstances, the
mdadm utility allows to fully assemble IMSM RAIDs with disks under different
controllers. With this update, a warning message about Host Bus Adapter mismatch
is displayed in such a case. (BZ#1136891)

• Previously, if the system was rebooted or the Intel Matrix Storage Manager

(IMSM) was restarted while reshaping an IMSM RAID, the reshape operation was not
continued after reassembly. The following message was displayed:

reshape info is not in native format - cannot continue.

This bug has been fixed and reshape is now resumed after system reboot or after
IMSM restart. (BZ#1136903)

Users of mdadm are advised to upgrade to these updated packages, which fix these
bugs and add these enhancements.

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/articles/11258

Affected Products

• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server 6 x86_64
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server 6 i386
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server - Extended Life Cycle Support 6 x86_64
• 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 Power, big endian 6 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 (for IBM z Systems) 6 s390x

Fixes

• BZ - 1012505 - /etc/cron.d/raid-check breaks rule GEN003080 in Red Hat security guide

CVEs

(none)

References

(none)