Important: kernel security and bug fix update

Related Vulnerabilities: CVE-2010-2248   CVE-2010-2521   CVE-2010-2248   CVE-2010-2521   CVE-2010-2248   CVE-2010-2521  

Synopsis

Important: kernel security and bug fix update

Type/Severity

Security Advisory: Important

Topic

Updated kernel packages that fix multiple security issues and one bug are
now available for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4.

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 flaw was found in the CIFSSMBWrite() function in the Linux kernel
    Common Internet File System (CIFS) implementation. A remote attacker could
    send a specially-crafted SMB response packet to a target CIFS client,
    resulting in a kernel panic (denial of service). (CVE-2010-2248, Important)
  • buffer overflow flaws were found in the Linux kernel's implementation of
    the server-side External Data Representation (XDR) for the Network File
    System (NFS) version 4. An attacker on the local network could send a
    specially-crafted large compound request to the NFSv4 server, which could
    possibly result in a kernel panic (denial of service) or, potentially, code
    execution. (CVE-2010-2521, Important)

This update also fixes the following bug:

  • the rpc_call_async() function in the SUN Remote Procedure Call (RPC)
    subsystem in the Linux kernel had a reference counting bug. In certain
    situations, some Network Lock Manager (NLM) messages may have triggered
    this bug on NFSv2 and NFSv3 servers, leading to a kernel panic (with
    "kernel BUG at fs/lockd/host.c:[xxx]!" logged to "/var/log/messages").
    (BZ#612962)

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
http://kbase.redhat.com/faq/docs/DOC-11259

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 4 x86_64
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server 4 ia64
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server 4 i386
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server - Extended Update Support 4.8 x86_64
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server - Extended Update Support 4.8 ia64
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server - Extended Update Support 4.8 i386
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation 4 x86_64
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation 4 ia64
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation 4 i386
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop 4 x86_64
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop 4 i386
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux for IBM z Systems 4 s390x
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux for IBM z Systems 4 s390
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux for IBM z Systems - Extended Update Support 4.8 s390x
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux for IBM z Systems - Extended Update Support 4.8 s390
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux for Power, big endian 4 ppc
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux for Power, big endian - Extended Update Support 4.8 ppc

Fixes

  • BZ - 608583 - CVE-2010-2248 kernel: cifs: Fix a kernel BUG with remote OS/2 server
  • BZ - 612028 - CVE-2010-2521 kernel: nfsd4: bug in read_buf
  • BZ - 612962 - [4.4] The kernel BUG occurred with the message 'fs/lockd/host.c:252!' [rhel-4.8.z]

CVEs

References