7.2 - RHSA-2004:549

Problem Description:

Updated kernel packages that fix several security issues in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3 are now available.

2. Relevant releases/architectures:

Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS version 3 - athlon, i386, i686, ia32e, ia64, ppc64, ppc64iseries, ppc64pseries, s390, s390x, x86_64 Red Hat Desktop version 3 - athlon, i386, i686, ia32e, x86_64 Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES version 3 - athlon, i386, i686, ia32e, ia64, x86_64 Red Hat Enterprise Linux WS version 3 - athlon, i386, i686, ia32e, ia64, x86_64

3. Problem description:

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

This update includes fixes for several security issues:

A missing serialization flaw in unix_dgram_recvmsg was discovered that affects kernels prior to 2.4.28. A local user could potentially make use of a race condition in order to gain privileges. The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures project (cve.mitre.org) has assigned the name CAN-2004-1068 to this issue.

Paul Starzetz of iSEC discovered various flaws in the ELF binary loader affecting kernels prior to 2.4.28. A local user could use thse flaws to gain read access to executable-only binaries or possibly gain privileges. (CAN-2004-1070, CAN-2004-1071, CAN-2004-1072, CAN-2004-1073)

A flaw when setting up TSS limits was discovered that affects AMD AMD64 and Intel EM64T architecture kernels prior to 2.4.23. A local user could use this flaw to cause a denial of service (crash) or possibly gain privileges. (CAN-2004-0812)

An integer overflow flaw was discovered in the ubsec_keysetup function in the Broadcom 5820 cryptonet driver. On systems using this driver, a local user could cause a denial of service (crash) or possibly gain elevated privileges. (CAN-2004-0619)

Stefan Esser discovered various flaws including buffer overflows in the smbfs driver affecting kernels prior to 2.4.28. A local user may be able to cause a denial of service (crash) or possibly gain privileges. In order to exploit these flaws the user would require control of a connected Samba server. (CAN-2004-0883, CAN-2004-0949)

SGI discovered a bug in the elf loader that affects kernels prior to 2.4.25 which could be triggered by a malformed binary. On architectures other than x86, a local user could create a malicious binary which could cause a denial of service (crash). (CAN-2004-0136)

Conectiva discovered flaws in certain USB drivers affecting kernels prior to 2.4.27 which used the copy_to_user function on uninitialized structures. These flaws could allow local users to read small amounts of kernel memory. (CAN-2004-0685)

All Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3 users are advised to upgrade their kernels to the packages associated with their machine architectures and configurations as listed in this erratum.

4. 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/

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

127258 - CAN-2004-0619 Broadcom 5820 integer overflow 127915 - CAN-2004-0136 Verify interpreter arch 127918 - CAN-2004-0685 usb sparse fixes in 2.4 133003 - CAN-2004-0812 User application with "out" instruction can crash the system 134720 - CAN-2004-0883 smbfs potential DOS (CAN-2004-0949) 134874 - CAN-2004-1070 binfmt_elf loader vulnerabilities (CAN-2004-1071 CAN-2004-1072 CAN-2004-1073) 134981 - CAN-2004-0136 Program crashes the kernel 140710 - CAN-2004-1068 Missing serialisation in unix_dgram_recvmsg