RHSA-2013:0741 - Security Advisory

Topic

Updated kernel packages that fix two security issues and several bugs are
now available for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.2 Extended Update Support.

The Red Hat Security Response Team has rated this update as having
important security impact. Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) base
scores, which give detailed severity ratings, are available for each
vulnerability from the CVE links in the References section.

Description

The kernel packages contain the Linux kernel, the core of any Linux
operating system.

This update fixes the following security issues:

• A race condition was found in the way the Linux kernel's ptrace

implementation handled PTRACE_SETREGS requests when the debuggee was woken
due to a SIGKILL signal instead of being stopped. A local, unprivileged
user could use this flaw to escalate their privileges. (CVE-2013-0871,
Important)

• A use-after-free flaw was found in the Linux kernel's memory management

subsystem in the way quota handling for huge pages was performed. A local,
unprivileged user could use this flaw to cause a denial of service or,
potentially, escalate their privileges. (CVE-2012-2133, Moderate)

Red Hat would like to thank Shachar Raindel for reporting CVE-2012-2133.

This update also fixes several bugs. Documentation for these changes will
be available shortly from the Technical Notes document linked to in the
References section.

Users should upgrade to these updated packages, which contain backported
patches to correct these issues. The system must be rebooted for this
update to take effect.

Solution

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

This update is available via the Red Hat Network. Details on how to
use the Red Hat Network to apply this update are available at
https://access.redhat.com/knowledge/articles/11258

To install kernel packages manually, use "rpm -ivh [package]". Do not
use "rpm -Uvh" as that will remove the running kernel binaries from
your system. You may use "rpm -e" to remove old kernels after
determining that the new kernel functions properly on your system.

Affected Products

• Red Hat Enterprise Linux for x86_64 - Extended Update Support 6.2 x86_64
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux for x86_64 - Extended Update Support 6.2 i386
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux for IBM z Systems - Extended Update Support 6.2 s390x
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux for Power, big endian - Extended Update Support 6.2 ppc64
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server - Extended Update Support from RHUI 6.2 x86_64
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server - Extended Update Support from RHUI 6.2 i386
• Red Hat Storage 2.0 x86_64
• Red Hat Gluster Storage Server for On-premise 2.0 x86_64
• Red Hat Storage for Public Cloud (via RHUI) 2.0 x86_64
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server - AUS 6.2 x86_64

Fixes

• BZ - 817430 - CVE-2012-2133 kernel: use after free bug in "quota" handling
• BZ - 911937 - CVE-2013-0871 kernel: race condition with PTRACE_SETREGS

CVEs

• CVE-2012-2133
• CVE-2013-0871

References

• https://access.redhat.com/security/updates/classification/#important
• https://access.redhat.com/site/documentation/en-US/Red_Hat_Enterprise_Linux/6/html/6.2_Technical_Notes/kernel.html