(RHSA-2017:1125) Important: kernel security and bug fix update

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

Security Fix(es):

• A race condition flaw was found in the N_HLDC Linux kernel driver when accessing n_hdlc.tbuf list that can lead to double free. A local, unprivileged user able to set the HDLC line discipline on the tty device could use this flaw to increase their privileges on the system. (CVE-2017-2636, Important)

Red Hat would like to thank Alexander Popov for reporting this issue.

Bug Fix(es):

• Previously, memory allocation in the libceph kernel module did not work correctly. Consequently, the file system on a RADOS Block Device(RBD) could become unresponsive in the situations under high memory pressure. With this update, the underlying source code has been fixed, and the file system no longer hangs in the described scenario. (BZ#1418314)

• Previously, the mpt3sas driver incorrectly checked the Transport Layer Retries (TLR) state even on Redundant Array Of Independent Discs (RAID) devices. Consequently, a kernel panic occurred when mpt3sas attempted to read from the RAID devices. With this update, mpt3sas has been fixed to check the TLR state only for non-RAID devices, and the kernel no longer panics under the described circumstances. (BZ#1427453)