4 - RHSA-2012:0517

Problem Description:

Updated kernel packages that fix one security issue and one bug are now available for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.6 Extended Update Support.

The Red Hat Security Response Team has rated this update as having moderate security impact. A Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) base score, which gives a detailed severity rating, is available from the CVE link in the References section.

2. Relevant releases/architectures:

Red Hat Enterprise Linux EUS (v. 5.6 server) - i386, ia64, noarch, ppc, s390x, x86_64

3. Description:

The kernel packages contain the Linux kernel, the core of any Linux operating system.

This update fixes the following security issue:

* A flaw was found in the Linux kernel in the way splitting two extents in ext4_ext_convert_to_initialized() worked. A local, unprivileged user with the ability to mount and unmount ext4 file systems could use this flaw to cause a denial of service. (CVE-2011-3638, Moderate)

Red Hat would like to thank Zheng Liu for reporting this issue.

This update also fixes the following bug:

* Starting with Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.6, all devices that used the ixgbe driver would stop stripping VLAN tags when the device entered promiscuous mode. Placing a device in a bridge group causes the device to enter promiscuous mode. This caused various issues under certain configurations of bridging and VLANs. A patch has been provided to address this issue and the devices now properly strip VLAN tags in the driver whether in promiscuous mode or not. (BZ#809790)

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.

4. 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 https://access.redhat.com/knowledge/articles/11258

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.

5. Bugs fixed (http://bugzilla.redhat.com/):

747942 - CVE-2011-3638 kernel: ext4: ext4_ext_insert_extent() kernel oops