7.2 - RHSA-2005:283

Problem Description:

Updated kernel packages are now available as part of ongoing support and maintenance of Red Hat Enterprise Linux version 2.1. This is the seventh regular update.

This security advisory 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 - i386 Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES version 2.1 - i386 Red Hat Enterprise Linux WS version 2.1 - i386

3. Problem description:

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

This is the seventh regular kernel update to Red Hat Enterprise Linux 2.1

The following security updates were made:

A flaw in fragment queuing was discovered that affected the Linux 2.4 and Linux 2.6 kernel netfilter subsystem. On systems configured to filter or process network packets (for example those configured to do firewalling), a remote attacker could send a carefully crafted set of fragmented packets to a machine and cause a denial of service (system crash). In order to sucessfully exploit this flaw, the attacker would need to know (or guess) some aspects of the firewall ruleset in place on the target system to be able to craft the right fragmented packets. (CAN-2005-0449)

A flaw was discovered in the Linux PPP driver. On systems allowing remote users to connect to a server using ppp, a remote client could cause a denial of service (system crash). (CAN-2005-0384)

A flaw was discovered in the bluetooth driver system. On system where the bluetooth modules are loaded, a local user could use this flaw to gain elevated (root) privileges. (CAN-2005-0750)

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) Please note that this update contains an unpatched kernel module called bcm5820_old for backwards compatibility which is still vulnerable to CAN-2004-0619.

The following device drivers have been updated to new versions:

mptfusion: 2.05.16 -> 2.05.16.02
bcm5820: 1.17 -> 1.81
cciss: 2.4.52 -> 2.4.54
qla2x00: 6.04.01 -> 7.01.01

There were many bug fixes in various parts of the kernel. The ongoing effort to resolve these problems has resulted in a marked improvement in the reliability and scalability of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 2.1.

Bug fixes include:
- Fixes an incorrect and ever-changing physical_id field in
/proc/cpuinfo.
- Now recognizes a particular e1000 device (PCI ID 8086:1014)
- Fixes a panic in disk quota code
- Fixes a bug in which msync(...MS_SYNC) returns before the data
is written to disk
- Adds new devices to the SCSI scan list so they can
be initialized and handled properly: LSI ProFibre 4000R, HP
HSV200/210, HP MSA, STK OPENstorage D178.
- Fixes a potential format overflow in /proc/partitions
- Restores module parameters to the e100 driver for compatibility with
existing customer scripts.
- Fixes a bug in which cat'ing /proc/mdstat while adding/removing
devices can cause a kernel oops

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

Please note that a vulnerability addressed by this update (CAN-2005-0449) required a change to the kernel module ABI which could cause third party modules to not work. However, Red Hat is currently not aware of any module that would be affected by this change.

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/):

127256 - CAN-2004-0619 Broadcom 5820 integer overflow 147674 - physical_id field of /proc/cpuinfo contains arbitrary values that change 151803 - CAN-2005-0449 Possible remote Oops/firewall bypass 151242 - CAN-2005-0384 pppd remote DoS 152179 - CAN-2005-0750 bluetooth security flaw