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 advisory includes fixes for several security issues:

Petr Vandrovec discovered a flaw in the 32bit emulation code affecting the
Linux 2.4 kernel on the AMD64 architecture. A local attacker could use
this flaw to gain privileges. The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures
project (cve.mitre.org) has assigned the name CAN-2004-1144 to this issue.

ISEC security research discovered multiple vulnerabilities in the IGMP
functionality which was backported in the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3
kernels. These flaws could allow a local user to cause a denial of
service (crash) or potentially gain privileges. Where multicast
applications are being used on a system, these flaws may also allow remote
users to cause a denial of service. The Common Vulnerabilities and
Exposures project (cve.mitre.org) has assigned the name CAN-2004-1137 to
this issue.

ISEC security research and Georgi Guninski independantly discovered a flaw
in the scm_send function in the auxiliary message layer. A local user
could create a carefully crafted auxiliary message which could cause a
denial of service (system hang). The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures
project (cve.mitre.org) has assigned the name CAN-2004-1016 to this issue.

A floating point information leak was discovered in the ia64 architecture
context switch code. A local user could use this flaw to read register
values of other processes by setting the MFH bit. The Common
Vulnerabilities and Exposures project (cve.mitre.org) has assigned the
name CAN-2004-0565 to this issue.

Kirill Korotaev found a flaw in load_elf_binary affecting kernels prior to
2.4.26. A local user could create a carefully crafted binary in such a
way that it would cause a denial of service (system crash). The Common
Vulnerabilities and Exposures project (cve.mitre.org) has assigned the
name CAN-2004-1234 to this issue.

These packages also fix issues in the io_edgeport driver, and a memory leak
in ip_options_get.

Note: The kernel-unsupported package contains various drivers and modules
that are unsupported and therefore might contain security problems that
have not been addressed.

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 - 124734 - CAN-2004-0565 Information leak on Linux/ia64
• BZ - 126126 - CAN-2004-0565 Information leak on Linux/ia64
• BZ - 142593 - CAN-2004-1017 io_edgeport driver overflows
• BZ - 142729 - CAN-2004-1016 CMSG validation checks
• BZ - 142733 - 20041208 ip_options_get memory leak
• BZ - 142748 - CAN-2004-1137 IGMP flaws
• BZ - 142964 - CAN-2004-1144 x86-64 privilege escalation
• BZ - 142965 - CAN-2004-1234 kernel denial of service vulnerability and exploit

CVEs

• CVE-2004-1137
• CVE-2004-1016
• CVE-2004-1017
• CVE-2004-1234
• CVE-2004-1335
• CVE-2004-0565
• CVE-2004-1144

References

(none)

This erratum does not contain any packages.