(RHSA-2003:145) Updated kernel fixes security vulnerabilities and updates drivers

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

A ptrace-related vulnerability has been discovered that could allow a local
user to gain elevated (root) privileges without authorization. The Common
Vulnerabilities and Exposures project (cve.mitre.org) has assigned the name
CAN-2003-0127 to this issue.

A flaw has been discovered that could potentially lead to data corruption.
The scenario only occurs while performing memory mapped file I/O, where
the file is simultaneously unlinked and the corresponding file blocks
reallocated. Furthermore, the memory mapped must be to a partial page at
the end of a file on an ext3 file system. As such, Red Hat considers this
scenario unlikely.

A flaw has been found in several hash table implementations in the kernel
networking code. A remote attacker could send packets with carefully
chosen, forged source addresses in such a way as to make every routing
cache entry get hashed into the same hash chain. The result would be that
the kernel would use a disproportionate amount of processor time to deal
with new packets, resulting in a remote denial of service attack. The
Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures project (cve.mitre.org) has assigned
the name CAN-2003-0244 to this issue.

In addition, the following drivers have been updated to the version indicated:

• e1000: 4.4.19-k1
• e100: 2.1.29-k2
• ips: 6.00.26
• qla2100, qla2200, qla2300: v6.04.01
• tg3 driver to 1.4c
• cciss driver to 2.4.44
• mpt fusion: 2.05.00
• aic7xxx to 6.2.32
• aic79xx to 1.3.6

If the system is configured to use alternate drivers, we recommend applying
the kudzu errata RHEA-2003:132 prior to updating the kernel.

The updated kernel also adds support for the IBM x450 platform and the
Madison processor, and incorporates improved support for the hugetlb file
system. This file system makes efficient use of the large page size
support that the Itanium architecture provides.

All users should upgrade to these errata packages, which address these issues.