RHSA-2014:1763 - Security Advisory

Topic

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

Red Hat Product Security 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.

• A flaw was found in the way the Linux kernel's futex subsystem handled

reference counting when requeuing futexes during futex_wait(). A local,
unprivileged user could use this flaw to zero out the reference counter of
an inode or an mm struct that backs up the memory area of the futex, which
could lead to a use-after-free flaw, resulting in a system crash or,
potentially, privilege escalation. (CVE-2014-0205)

• A NULL pointer dereference flaw was found in the way the Linux kernel's

Stream Control Transmission Protocol (SCTP) implementation handled
simultaneous connections between the same hosts. A remote attacker could
use this flaw to crash the system. (CVE-2014-5077)

The security impact of the CVE-2014-0205 issue was discovered by Mateusz
Guzik of Red Hat.

All kernel users are advised to 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/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 Server - AUS 6.2 x86_64

Fixes

• BZ - 1094455 - CVE-2014-0205 kernel: futex: refcount issue in case of requeue
• BZ - 1122982 - CVE-2014-5077 Kernel: net: SCTP: fix a NULL pointer dereference during INIT collisions

CVEs

• CVE-2014-5077
• CVE-2014-0205

References

• https://access.redhat.com/security/updates/classification/#important