kernel security update

Synopsis

kernel security update

Type/Severity

Security Advisory: Important

Topic

Updated kernel packages that fix several security issues in Red Hat
Enterprise Linux 2.1 are now available.

Description

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

This advisory includes fixes for the following security issues:

iSEC Security Research discovered a VMA handling flaw in the uselib(2)
system call of the Linux kernel. A local user could make use of this
flaw to gain elevated (root) privileges. The Common Vulnerabilities and
Exposures project (cve.mitre.org) has assigned the name CAN-2004-1235 to
this issue.

iSEC Security Research discovered a flaw in the page fault handler code
that could lead to local users gaining elevated (root) privileges on
multiprocessor machines. The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures project
(cve.mitre.org) has assigned the name CAN-2005-0001 to this issue.

iSEC Security Research and Georgi Guninski independently 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.

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 (CAN-2004-1017), a
memory leak in ip_options_get (CAN-2004-1335), and missing VM_IO
flags in some drivers (CAN-2004-1057).

A recent Internet Draft by Fernando Gont recommended that ICMP Source
Quench messages be ignored by hosts. A patch to ignore these messages is
included.

All Red Hat Enterprise Linux 2.1 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 2 i386
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation 2 i386

Fixes

• BZ - 137821 - CAN-2004-1057 VM_IO refcount issue
• BZ - 142594 - CAN-2004-1017 io_edgeport driver overflows
• BZ - 142730 - CAN-2004-1016 CMSG validation checks
• BZ - 142734 - CAN-2004-1335 ip_options_get memory leak
• BZ - 143378 - CAN-2004-1234 kernel denial of service vulnerability and exploit
• BZ - 144137 - CAN-2004-1235 isec.pl do_brk() privilege escalation
• BZ - 144407 - CAN-2005-0001 page fault @ SMP privilege escalation

CVEs

• CVE-2004-1335
• CVE-2004-1234
• CVE-2004-1057
• CVE-2004-1017
• CVE-2004-1016
• CVE-2004-0791
• CVE-2005-0001
• CVE-2004-1235

References

(none)