7.2 - RHSA-2005:551

Problem Description:

Updated kernel packages are now available to correct security issues and bugs for Red Hat Enterprise Linux version 2.1 (Itanium).

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

2. Relevant releases/architectures:

Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS (Advanced Server) version 2.1 - ia64 Red Hat Linux Advanced Workstation 2.1 - ia64

3. Problem description:

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

This is a kernel maintenance update to Red Hat Enterprise Linux 2.1.

The following security issues are corrected:

A flaw between execve() syscall handling and core dumping of ELF-format executables allowed local unprivileged users to cause a denial of service (system crash) or possibly gain privileges. The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures project has assigned the name CAN-2005-1263 to this issue.

A flaw in ptrace for Itanium architectures was discovered. A local user could use this flaw to cause a denial of service (crash) or possibly gain privileges. (CAN-2005-1761)

A race condition in the ia32 compatibility code for the execve system call was discovered. A local user could use this flaw to cause a denial of service (kernel panic) or possibly gain privileges. (CAN-2005-1768)

A flaw when freeing a pointer in load_elf_library was discovered. A local user could potentially use this flaw to cause a denial of service (crash). (CAN-2005-0749)

The Direct Rendering Manager (DRM) driver did not properly check the DMA lock, which could allow remote attackers or local users to cause a denial of service (X Server crash) or possibly modify the video output. (CAN-2004-1056)

A flaw in the moxa serial driver could allow a local user to perform privileged operations such as replacing the firmware. (CAN-2005-0504)

The following bug fixes were also made:

- - "busy inodes after unmount" error on NFS volumes - - Establish 64-bit limits even for 32-bit threads - - Fix a race condition in __get_lease - - Fix error in IDE disk accounting. This last fix causes IO accounting
to occur only on READ and WRITE operations. This fixes several bugs
in various accounting and statistic utilities. - - Fix kswapd/dquot deadlock bug - - Fix loop control bug in do_shmem_file_read

All Red Hat Enterprise Linux 2.1 Itanium users are advised to upgrade their kernels to the packages associated with their machine configurations as listed in this erratum.

4. Solution:

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

This update is available via Red Hat Network. To use Red Hat Network, launch the Red Hat Update Agent with the following command:

up2date

This will start an interactive process that will result in the appropriate RPMs being upgraded on your system.

5. Bug IDs fixed (http://bugzilla.redhat.com/):

139775 - Filesystem quota GFP_KERNEL deadlock kswapd on dqio_sem. 144389 - CAN-2004-1056 insufficient locking checks in DRM code 144533 - random poolsize sysctl handler integer overflow 146104 - CAN-2005-0504 moxa CAP_SYS_RAWIO missing (ipf) 151230 - System hangs with kernel patch e.52 while dce install/run 152413 - CAN-2005-0749 load_elf_library possible DoS (ipf) 157453 - CAN-2005-1263 Linux kernel ELF core dump privilege elevation (ipf) 159824 - CAN-2005-1761 local user can use ptrace to crash system 160200 - CAN-2005-1768 64bit execve() race leads to buffer overflow 160562 - Race condition in __get_lease() 165950 - Unexpected error: VFS: Busy inodes after unmount. Self-destruct in 5 seconds.