(RHSA-2004:504) Updated Itanium kernel packages resolve security issues

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

This is the sixth regular Itanium kernel update to Red Hat Enterprise Linux
version 2.1. This kernel updates several important drivers and fixes a
number of bugs.

This update includes fixes for several security issues:

Paul Starzetz of iSEC discovered various flaws in the ELF binary
loader affecting kernels prior to 2.4.28. A local user could use these
flaws to gain read access to executable-only binaries or possibly gain
privileges. The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures project
(cve.mitre.org) has assigned the names CAN-2004-1070, CAN-2004-1071,
CAN-2004-1072, and CAN-2004-1073 to these 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. (CAN-2004-1068)

SGI discovered a bug in the elf loader that affects kernels before
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)

Stefan Esser discovered various flaws including buffer overflows in
the smbfs driver affecting kernels before 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 need to have control of
a connected smb server. (CAN-2004-0883, CAN-2004-0949)

A floating point information leak was discovered in the ia64 architecture
context switch code in kernels before 2.4.27. A local user could use this
flaw to read register values of other processes by setting the MFH bit.
(CAN-2004-0565)

Conectiva discovered flaws in certain USB drivers affecting kernels
before 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)

The ext3 and jfs code in kernels before 2.4.26 did not properly initialize
journal descriptor blocks. A privileged local user could read portions of
kernel memory. (CAN-2004-0177, CAN-2004-0181)

The following drivers have been updated:

• fusion to 2.05.16.16.02
• e1000 to 5.3.19-k2
• e100 to 3.0.27-k2

All Red Hat Enterprise Linux 2.1 users running Itanium are advised to
upgrade their kernels to the packages listed in this erratum.