Synopsis

kernel security update

Type/Severity

Security Advisory: Important

Topic

Updated kernel packages that fix several security issues in Red Hat
Enterprise Linux 3 are now available.

Description

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

This update includes fixes for several security 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. The Common
Vulnerabilities and Exposures project (cve.mitre.org) has assigned the name
CAN-2004-1068 to this issue.

Paul Starzetz of iSEC discovered various flaws in the ELF binary
loader affecting kernels prior to 2.4.28. A local user could use thse
flaws to gain read access to executable-only binaries or possibly gain
privileges. (CAN-2004-1070, CAN-2004-1071, CAN-2004-1072, CAN-2004-1073)

A flaw when setting up TSS limits was discovered that affects AMD AMD64
and Intel EM64T architecture kernels prior to 2.4.23. A local user could
use this flaw to cause a denial of service (crash) or possibly gain
privileges. (CAN-2004-0812)

An integer overflow flaw was discovered in the ubsec_keysetup function
in the Broadcom 5820 cryptonet driver. On systems using this driver,
a local user could cause a denial of service (crash) or possibly gain
elevated privileges. (CAN-2004-0619)

Stefan Esser discovered various flaws including buffer overflows in
the smbfs driver affecting kernels prior to 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 require control of
a connected Samba server. (CAN-2004-0883, CAN-2004-0949)

SGI discovered a bug in the elf loader that affects kernels prior to
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)

Conectiva discovered flaws in certain USB drivers affecting kernels
prior to 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)

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 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 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 Desktop 3 x86_64
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop 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 - 127258 - CAN-2004-0619 Broadcom 5820 integer overflow
• BZ - 127915 - CAN-2004-0136 Verify interpreter arch
• BZ - 127918 - CAN-2004-0685 usb sparse fixes in 2.4
• BZ - 133003 - CAN-2004-0812 User application with "out" instruction can crash the system
• BZ - 134720 - CAN-2004-0883 smbfs potential DOS (CAN-2004-0949)
• BZ - 134874 - CAN-2004-1070 binfmt_elf loader vulnerabilities (CAN-2004-1071 CAN-2004-1072 CAN-2004-1073)
• BZ - 134981 - CAN-2004-0136 Program crashes the kernel
• BZ - 140710 - CAN-2004-1068 Missing serialisation in unix_dgram_recvmsg

CVEs

• CVE-2004-1073
• CVE-2004-0619
• CVE-2004-1072
• CVE-2004-0685
• CVE-2004-0812
• CVE-2004-0883
• CVE-2004-0949
• CVE-2004-1068
• CVE-2004-1070
• CVE-2004-1071
• CVE-2004-0138

References

(none)

This erratum does not contain any packages.