Synopsis

Updated Itanium kernel packages resolve security issues

Type/Severity

Security Advisory: Important

Topic

Updated Itanium kernel packages are now available as part of ongoing
support and maintenance of Red Hat Enterprise Linux version 2.1. This is
the sixth regular update.

Description

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

This is the sixth regular Itanium kernel update to Red Hat Enterprise Linux
version 2.1. This kernel updates several important drivers and fixes a
number of bugs.

This update includes fixes for several security issues:

Paul Starzetz of iSEC discovered various flaws in the ELF binary
loader affecting kernels prior to 2.4.28. A local user could use these
flaws to gain read access to executable-only binaries or possibly gain
privileges. The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures project
(cve.mitre.org) has assigned the names CAN-2004-1070, CAN-2004-1071,
CAN-2004-1072, and CAN-2004-1073 to these issues.

A missing serialization flaw in unix_dgram_recvmsg was discovered that
affects kernels prior to 2.4.28. A local user could potentially make
use of a race condition in order to gain privileges. (CAN-2004-1068)

SGI discovered a bug in the elf loader that affects kernels before
2.4.25 which could be triggered by a malformed binary. On
architectures other than x86, a local user could create a malicious
binary which could cause a denial of service (crash). (CAN-2004-0136)

Stefan Esser discovered various flaws including buffer overflows in
the smbfs driver affecting kernels before 2.4.28. A local user may be
able to cause a denial of service (crash) or possibly gain privileges.
In order to exploit these flaws the user would need to have control of
a connected smb server. (CAN-2004-0883, CAN-2004-0949)

A floating point information leak was discovered in the ia64 architecture
context switch code in kernels before 2.4.27. A local user could use this
flaw to read register values of other processes by setting the MFH bit.
(CAN-2004-0565)

Conectiva discovered flaws in certain USB drivers affecting kernels
before 2.4.27 which used the copy_to_user function on uninitialized
structures. These flaws could allow local users to read small amounts of
kernel memory. (CAN-2004-0685)

The ext3 and jfs code in kernels before 2.4.26 did not properly initialize
journal descriptor blocks. A privileged local user could read portions of
kernel memory. (CAN-2004-0177, CAN-2004-0181)

The following drivers have been updated:

• fusion to 2.05.16.16.02
  
• e1000 to 5.3.19-k2
  
• e100 to 3.0.27-k2
  

All Red Hat Enterprise Linux 2.1 users running Itanium are advised to
upgrade their kernels to the packages listed in this erratum.

Solution

Before applying this update, make sure that all previously-released
errata relevant to your system have been applied. Use Red Hat
Network to download and update your packages. To launch the Red Hat
Update Agent, use the following command:

up2date

For information on how to install packages manually, refer to the
following Web page for the System Administration or Customization
guide specific to your system:

http://www.redhat.com/docs/manuals/enterprise/

Affected Products

• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server 2 ia64
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation 2 ia64

Fixes

• BZ - 121034 - CAN-2004-0177 ext3 infoleak (ipf)
• BZ - 121040 - CAN-2004-0181 jfs infoleak
• BZ - 124832 - Random stall during boot-up on RHEL 2.1 IPF
• BZ - 126127 - CAN-2004-0565 Information leak on Linux/ia64
• BZ - 127385 - Machines don't boot on LSI22320-R adapters
• BZ - 127916 - CAN-2004-0136 Verify interpreter (ipf)
• BZ - 127920 - CAN-2004-0685 usb sparse fixes in 2.4 (ipf)
• BZ - 129168 - [RHEL2.1 IPF] Securepath & Oracle with RHAS2.1 / Experiencing performance problem
• BZ - 130700 - RHEL 2.1 U6 x86 and IPF): Refresh e1000 driver (v 5.3.19)
• BZ - 130702 - RHEL 2.1 U6 (x86 and IPF): Refresh e100 driver (v 3.0.27)
• BZ - 131392 - RHEL 2.1 U6: Update LSI mptfusion driver to v2.05.16.02 or greater
• BZ - 131493 - [RHEL2.1] SCSI midlayer race on scsi_devicelist
• BZ - 132609 - RHEL2.1 U6: Vendor/board name of Broadcom BCM5704 is not shown in /proc/pci
• BZ - 134373 - Need O_LARGEFILE when generating corefiles on ia64.
• BZ - 134722 - CAN-2004-0883 smbfs potential DOS (CAN-2004-0949)
• BZ - 134802 - keyboard.c : Can't emulate raw mode for keycode 272
• BZ - 134876 - CAN-2004-1070 binfmt_elf loader vulnerabilities (CAN-2004-1071 CAN-2004-1072 CAN-2004-1073)
• BZ - 135299 - Add support for BLIST_NOSTARTONADD to derry
• BZ - 137446 - ioctl on HP Smart Array 532 failure
• BZ - 138042 - Add sparse LUN support for IBM ESS Model 2105 and 2145
• BZ - 138443 - Wrong Chaparral FR1422 identifier JSS224 instead of JFS224
• BZ - 140712 - CAN-2004-1068 Missing serialisation in unix_dgram_recvmsg (ia64)

CVEs

• CVE-2004-0138
• CVE-2004-1071
• CVE-2004-1070
• CVE-2004-1068
• CVE-2004-0949
• CVE-2004-0883
• CVE-2004-0685
• CVE-2004-0565
• CVE-2004-1072
• CVE-2004-1073
• CVE-2004-0177
• CVE-2004-0181

References

(none)

This erratum does not contain any packages.