RHSA-2004:354 - Security Advisory

Topic

Updated kernel packages that fix a security vulnerability affecting the
kernel nfs server for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 2.1 are now available.

Description

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

During an audit of the Linux kernel, SUSE discovered a flaw that allowed
a user to make unauthorized changes to the group ID of files in certain
circumstances. In the 2.4 kernel, as shipped with Red Hat Enterprise
Linux, the only way this could happen is through the kernel nfs server. A
user on a system that mounted a remote file system from a vulnerable
machine may be able to make unauthorized changes to the group ID of
exported files. The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures project
(cve.mitre.org) has assigned the name CAN-2004-0497 to this issue.

Only Red Hat Enterprise Linux systems that are configured to share file
systems via NFS are affected by this issue.

All Red Hat Enterprise Linux 2.1 users are advised to upgrade their kernels
to the packages associated with their machine architectures and
configurations as listed in this erratum. These packages contain a
backported patch to correct this issue.

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 2 i386
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation 2 i386

Fixes

CVEs

• CVE-2004-0497

References

(none)