(RHSA-2015:0987) Important: kernel security and bug fix update

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

• A buffer overflow flaw was found in the way the Linux kernel’s Intel
  AES-NI instructions optimized version of the RFC4106 GCM mode decryption
  functionality handled fragmented packets. A remote attacker could use this
  flaw to crash, or potentially escalate their privileges on, a system over a
  connection with an active AEC-GCM mode IPSec security association.
  (CVE-2015-3331, Important)

This update also fixes the following bugs:

• Previously, the kernel audit subsystem did not correctly track file path
  names which could lead to empty, or “(null)” path names in the PATH audit
  records. This update fixes the bug by correctly tracking file path names
  and displaying the names in the audit PATH records. (BZ#1197746)

• Due to a change in the internal representation of field types,
  AUDIT_LOGINUID set to -1 (4294967295) by the audit API was asymmetrically
  converted to an AUDIT_LOGINUID_SET field with a value of 0, unrecognized by
  an older audit API. To fix this bug, the kernel takes note about the way
  the rule has been formulated and reports the rule in the originally given
  form. As a result, older versions of audit provide a report as expected, in
  the AUDIT_LOGINUID field type form, whereas the newer versions can migrate
  to the new AUDIT_LOGINUID_SET filed type. (BZ#1197748)

• The GFS2 file system “Splice Read” operation, which is used for the
  sendfile() function, was not properly allocating a required multi-block
  reservation structure in memory. Consequently, when the GFS2 block
  allocator was called to assign blocks of data, it attempted to dereference
  the structure, which resulted in a kernel panic. With this update, “Splice
  read” operation properly allocates the necessary reservation structure in
  memory prior to calling the block allocator, and sendfile() thus works
  properly for GFS2. (BZ#1201256)

• Moving an Open vSwitch (OVS) internal vport to a different net name space
  and subsequently deleting that name space led to a kernel panic. This bug
  has been fixed by removing the OVS internal vport at net name space
  deletion. (BZ#1202357)

• Previously, the kernel audit subsystem was not correctly handling file
  and directory moves, leading to audit records that did not match the audit
  file watches. This fix correctly handles moves such that the audit file
  watches work correctly. (BZ#1202358)

• Due to a regression, the crypto adapter could not be set online. A patch
  has been provided that fixes the device registration process so that the
  device can be used also before the registration process is completed, thus
  fixing this bug. (BZ#1205300)

• Due to incorrect calculation for entropy during the entropy addition, the
  amount of entropy in the /dev/random file could be overestimated.
  The formula for the entropy addition has been changed, thus fixing this
  bug. (BZ#1211288)

• Previously, the ansi_cprng and drbg utilities did not obey the call
  convention and returned the positive value on success instead of the
  correct value of zero. Consequently, Internet Protocol Security (IPsec)
  terminated unexpectedly when ansi_cprng or drbg were used. With this
  update, ansi_cprng and drbg have been changed to return zero on success,
  and IPsec now functions correctly. (BZ#1211487)

• Due to a failure to clear the timestamp flag when reusing a tx descriptor
  in the mlx4_en driver, programs that did not request a hardware timestamp
  packet on their sent data received it anyway, resulting in unexpected
  behavior in certain applications. With this update, when reusing the tx
  descriptor in the mlx4_en driver in the aforementioned situation, the
  hardware timestamp flag is cleared, and applications now behave as
  expected. (BZ#1209240)

All kernel users are advised to upgrade to these updated packages, which
contain backported patches to correct these issues. The system must be
rebooted for this update to take effect.