Red Hat Product Errata RHSA-2004:183 - Security Advisory
Issued:
2004-04-22
Updated:
2004-04-22

RHSA-2004:183 - Security Advisory

Synopsis

kernel security update

Type/Severity

Security Advisory: Important

Topic

Updated kernel packages that fix two privilege escalation vulnerabilities
are now available.

Description

The Linux kernel handles the basic functions of the operating system.

iSEC Security Research discovered a flaw in the ip_setsockopt() function
code of the Linux kernel versions 2.4.22 to 2.4.25 inclusive. This flaw
also affects the 2.4.21 kernel in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3 which
contained a backported version of the affected code. A local user could
use this flaw to gain root privileges. The Common Vulnerabilities and
Exposures project (cve.mitre.org) has assigned the name CAN-2004-0424 to
this issue.

iDefense reported a buffer overflow flaw in the ISO9660 filesystem code.
An attacker could create a malicious filesystem in such a way that root
privileges may be obtained if the filesystem is mounted. The Common
Vulnerabilities and Exposures project (cve.mitre.org) has assigned the name
CAN-2004-0109 to this issue.

All Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3 users are advised to upgrade their kernels
to the packages associated with their machine architectures and
configurations as listed in this erratum.

Solution

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

To update all RPMs for your particular architecture, run:

rpm -Fvh [filenames]

where [filenames] is a list of the RPMs you wish to upgrade. Only those
RPMs which are currently installed will be updated. Those RPMs which are
not installed but included in the list will not be updated. Note that you
can also use wildcards (*.rpm) if your current directory *only* contains the
desired RPMs.

Please note that this update is also available via Red Hat Network. Many
people find this an easier way to apply updates. To use Red Hat Network,
launch the Red Hat Update Agent with the following command:

up2date

This will start an interactive process that will result in the appropriate
RPMs being upgraded on your system.

If up2date fails to connect to Red Hat Network due to SSL
Certificate Errors, you need to install a version of the
up2date client with an updated certificate. The latest version of
up2date is available from the Red Hat FTP site and may also be
downloaded directly from the RHN website:

https://rhn.redhat.com/help/latest-up2date.pxt

Affected Products

  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server 3 x86_64
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server 3 ia64
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server 3 i386
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation 3 x86_64
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation 3 ia64
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation 3 i386
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux for IBM z Systems 3 s390x
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux for IBM z Systems 3 s390
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux for Power, big endian 3 ppc

Fixes

  • BZ - 120028 - CAN-2004-0109 kernel iso9660 buffer overflow
  • BZ - 121314 - Linux kernel setsockopt MCAST_MSFILTER integer overflow

The Red Hat security contact is secalert@redhat.com. More contact details at https://access.redhat.com/security/team/contact/.