(RHSA-2003:408) Updated kernel packages address security vulnerabilities, bugfixes

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

The execve system call in Linux 2.4.x records the file descriptor of the
executable process in the file table of the calling process, which allows
local users to gain read access to restricted file descriptors. The Common
Vulnerabilities and Exposures project (cve.mitre.org) has assigned the name
CAN-2003-0476 to this issue.

A number of bugfixes are included, including important fixes for the ext3
file system and timer code.

New features include limited support for non-cached NFS file sytems, Serial
ATA (SATA) devices, and new alt-sysreq debugging options.

In addition, the following drivers have been updated:

• e100 2.3.30-k1
• e1000 5.2.20-k1
• fusion 2.05.05+
• ips 6.10.52
• aic7xxx 6.2.36
• aic79xxx 1.3.10
• megaraid 2 2.00.9
• cciss 2.4.49

All users are advised to upgrade to these erratum packages, which contain
backported patches addressing these issues.