RHSA-2007:0993

Problem Description:

Updated kernel packages that fix various security issues in the Red Hat
Enterprise Linux 5 kernel are now available.

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 Desktop (v. 5 client) - i386, noarch, x86_64
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (v. 5 server) - i386, ia64, noarch, ppc, s390x, x86_64

3. Problem description:

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

These new kernel packages contain fixes for the following security issues:

A memory leak was found in the Red Hat Content Accelerator kernel patch. A
local user could use this flaw to cause a denial of service (memory
exhaustion). (CVE-2007-5494, Important)

A flaw was found in the handling of IEEE 802.11 frames affecting several
wireless LAN modules. In certain circumstances, a remote attacker could
trigger this flaw by sending a malicious packet over a wireless network and
cause a denial of service (kernel crash). (CVE-2007-4997, Important).

A flaw was found in the Advanced Linux Sound Architecture (ALSA). A local
user who had the ability to read the /proc/driver/snd-page-alloc file could
see portions of kernel memory. (CVE-2007-4571, Moderate).

In addition to the security issues described above, several bug fixes
preventing possible memory corruption, system crashes, SCSI I/O fails,
networking drivers performance regression and journaling block device layer
issue were also included.

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 users are advised to upgrade to these packages,
which contain backported patches to resolve these issues.

Red Hat would like to credit Vasily Averin, Chris Evans, and Neil Kettle
for reporting the security issues corrected by this update.

4. 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/FAQ_58_10188

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

288961 - CVE-2007-4571 ALSA memory disclosure flaw
305011 - [RHEL 5.1.z]: Tick divider bugs on x86_64
315051 - CVE-2007-5494 open(O_ATOMICLOOKUP) leaks dentry
345141 - [PATCH] jbd: wait for already submitted t_sync_datalist buffer to complete (Possibility of in-place data destruction)
345151 - LSPP: audit rule causes kernel 'out of memory' condition and auditd failure
345161 - [EL5][BUG] Unexpected SIGILL on NFS/Montecito(ia64)
345171 - task->mm or slab corruption with CIFS
346341 - CVE-2007-4997 kernel ieee80211 off-by-two integer underflow
381001 - LSPP: audit enable not picking up all processes
381021 - [Broadcom 5.1.z bug] Performance regression on 5705 TG3 NICs
381101 - LTC35628-kexec/kdump kernel hung on Power5+ and Power6 based systems
381121 - LTC38135-vSCSI client reports 'Device sdX not ready' after deactive/active device on vSCSI server
381131 - forcedeth driver mishandles MSI interrupts under high load