Important: kernel security update

Synopsis

Important: kernel security update

Type/Severity

Security Advisory: Important

Topic

Updated kernel packages that resolve several security issues are now
available for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.2 Extended Update Support.

This update has been rated as having important security impact by the Red
Hat Security Response Team.

Description

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

This update includes backported fixes for four security issues. These
issues only affected users of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.2 Extended Update
Support as they have already been addressed for users of Red Hat Enterprise
Linux 5 in the 5.3 update, RHSA-2009:0225.

In accordance with the support policy, future security updates to Red Hat
Enterprise Linux 5.2 Extended Update Support will only include issues of
critical security impact.

• when fput() was called to close a socket, the __scm_destroy() function
  in the Linux kernel could make indirect recursive calls to itself. This
  could, potentially, lead to a denial of service issue. (CVE-2008-5029,
  Important)
  
• the sendmsg() function in the Linux kernel did not block during UNIX
  socket garbage collection. This could, potentially, lead to a local denial
  of service. (CVE-2008-5300, Important)
  
• a flaw was found in the Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) subsystem. A
  local, unprivileged user could use the flaw to listen on the same socket
  more than once, possibly causing a denial of service. (CVE-2008-5079,
  Important)
  
• a race condition was found in the Linux kernel "inotify" watch removal
  and umount implementation. This could allow a local, unprivileged user
  to cause a privilege escalation or a denial of service. (CVE-2008-5182,
  Important)
  

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

Solution

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

This update is available via Red Hat Network. Details on how to use
the Red Hat Network to apply this update are available at
http://kbase.redhat.com/faq/docs/DOC-11259

Affected Products

• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server - Extended Update Support 5.2 x86_64
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server - Extended Update Support 5.2 ia64
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server - Extended Update Support 5.2 i386
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux for IBM z Systems - Extended Update Support 5.2 s390x
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux for Power, big endian - Extended Update Support 5.2 ppc

Fixes

• BZ - 470201 - CVE-2008-5029 kernel: Unix sockets kernel panic
• BZ - 472325 - CVE-2008-5182 kernel: fix inotify watch removal/umount races
• BZ - 473259 - CVE-2008-5300 kernel: fix soft lockups/OOM issues with unix socket garbage collector
• BZ - 473696 - CVE-2008-5079 Linux Kernel 'atm module' Local Denial of Service

CVEs

• CVE-2008-5029
• CVE-2008-5300
• CVE-2008-5079
• CVE-2008-5182

References

• http://www.redhat.com/security/updates/classification/#important