Linux kernel 2.4.x and 2.6.x allows local users to cause a denial of service (CPU and memory consumption) and bypass RLIM_MEMLOCK limits via the mlockall call.

Updated kernel packages are now available as part of ongoing support and maintenance of Red Hat Enterprise Linux version 3. This is the sixth regular update.

This security advisory has been rated as having important security impact by the Red Hat Security Response Team.

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

This is the sixth regular kernel update to Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3.

New features introduced by this update include :

  - diskdump support on HP Smart Array devices -     netconsole/netdump support over bonded interfaces - new     chipset and device support via PCI table updates -     support for new 'oom-kill' and 'kscand_work_percent'     sysctls - support for dual core processors and ACPI     Power Management timers on AMD64 and Intel EM64T systems

There were many bug fixes in various parts of the kernel. The ongoing effort to resolve these problems has resulted in a marked improvement in the reliability and scalability of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3.

There were numerous driver updates and security fixes (elaborated below). Other key areas affected by fixes in this update include kswapd, inode handling, the SATA subsystem, diskdump handling, ptrace() syscall support, and signal handling.

The following device drivers have been upgraded to new versions :

3w-9xxx ---- 2.24.03.008RH cciss ------ 2.4.58.RH1 e100 ------- 3.4.8-k2 e1000 ------ 6.0.54-k2 emulex ----- 7.3.2 fusion ----- 2.06.16i.01 iscsi ------ 3.6.2.1 ipmi ------- 35.4 lpfcdfc ---- 1.2.1 qlogic ----- 7.05.00-RH1 tg3 -------- 3.27RH

The following security bugs were fixed in this update :

  - a flaw in syscall argument checking on Itanium systems     that allowed a local user to cause a denial of service     (crash) (CVE-2005-0136)

  - a flaw in stack expansion that allowed a local user of     mlockall() to cause a denial of service (memory     exhaustion) (CVE-2005-0179)

  - a small memory leak in network packet defragmenting that     allowed a remote user to cause a denial of service     (memory exhaustion) on systems using netfilter     (CVE-2005-0210)

  - flaws in ptrace() syscall handling on AMD64 and Intel     EM64T systems that allowed a local user to cause a     denial of service (crash) (CVE-2005-0756, CVE-2005-1762,     CVE-2005-2553)

  - flaws in ISO-9660 file system handling that allowed the     mounting of an invalid image on a CD-ROM to cause a     denial of service (crash) or potentially execute     arbitrary code (CVE-2005-0815)

  - a flaw in ptrace() syscall handling on Itanium systems     that allowed a local user to cause a denial of service     (crash) (CVE-2005-1761)

  - a flaw in the alternate stack switching on AMD64 and     Intel EM64T systems that allowed a local user to cause a     denial of service (crash) (CVE-2005-1767)

  - race conditions in the ia32-compat support for exec()     syscalls on AMD64, Intel EM64T, and Itanium systems that     could allow a local user to cause a denial of service     (crash) (CVE-2005-1768)

  - flaws in IPSEC network handling that allowed a local     user to cause a denial of service or potentially gain     privileges (CVE-2005-2456, CVE-2005-2555)

  - a flaw in sendmsg() syscall handling on 64-bit systems     that allowed a local user to cause a denial of service     or potentially gain privileges (CVE-2005-2490)

  - flaws in unsupported modules that allowed     denial-of-service attacks (crashes) or local privilege     escalations on systems using the drm, coda, or moxa     modules (CVE-2004-1056, CVE-2005-0124, CVE-2005-0504)

  - potential leaks of kernel data from jfs and ext2 file     system handling (CVE-2004-0181, CVE-2005-0400)

Note: The kernel-unsupported package contains various drivers and modules that are unsupported and therefore might contain security problems that have not been addressed.

All Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3 users are advised to upgrade their kernels to the packages associated with their machine architectures and configurations as listed in this erratum.

The remote Redhat Enterprise Linux 4 host has packages installed that are affected by multiple vulnerabilities as referenced in the RHSA-2005:092 advisory.

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

    This advisory includes fixes for several security issues:

    iSEC Security Research discovered multiple vulnerabilities in the IGMP     functionality.  These flaws could allow a local user to cause a denial of     service (crash) or potentially gain privileges.  Where multicast     applications are being used on a system, these flaws may also allow remote     users to cause a denial of service.  The Common Vulnerabilities and     Exposures project (cve.mitre.org) has assigned the name CAN-2004-1137 to     this issue.

    iSEC Security Research discovered a flaw in the page fault handler code     that could lead to local users gaining elevated (root) privileges on     multiprocessor machines.  (CAN-2005-0001)

    iSEC Security Research discovered a VMA handling flaw in the uselib(2)     system call of the Linux kernel.  A local user could make use of this     flaw to gain elevated (root) privileges.  (CAN-2004-1235)

    A flaw affecting the OUTS instruction on the AMD64 and Intel EM64T     architecture was discovered.  A local user could use this flaw to write to     privileged IO ports.  (CAN-2005-0204)

    The Direct Rendering Manager (DRM) driver in Linux kernel 2.6 does not     properly check the DMA lock, which could allow remote attackers or local     users to cause a denial of service (X Server crash) or possibly modify the     video output. (CAN-2004-1056)

    OGAWA Hirofumi discovered incorrect tables sizes being used in the     filesystem Native Language Support ASCII translation table.  This could     lead to a denial of service (system crash).  (CAN-2005-0177)

    Michael Kerrisk discovered a flaw in the 2.6.9 kernel which allows users to     unlock arbitrary shared memory segments.  This flaw could lead to     applications not behaving as expected.  (CAN-2005-0176)

    Improvements in the POSIX signal and tty standards compliance exposed     a race condition.  This flaw can be triggered accidentally by threaded     applications or deliberately by a malicious user and can result in a     denial of service (crash) or in occasional cases give access to a small     random chunk of kernel memory.  (CAN-2005-0178)

    The PaX team discovered a flaw in mlockall introduced in the 2.6.9 kernel.
    An unprivileged user could use this flaw to cause a denial of service     (CPU and memory consumption or crash).  (CAN-2005-0179)

    Brad Spengler discovered multiple flaws in sg_scsi_ioctl in the 2.6 kernel.
    An unprivileged user may be able to use this flaw to cause a denial of     service (crash) or possibly other actions.  (CAN-2005-0180)

    Kirill Korotaev discovered a missing access check regression in the Red Hat     Enterprise Linux 4 kernel 4GB/4GB split patch.  On systems using the     hugemem kernel, a local unprivileged user could use this flaw to cause a     denial of service (crash).  (CAN-2005-0090)

    A flaw in the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4 kernel 4GB/4GB split patch can     allow syscalls to read and write arbitrary kernel memory.  On systems using     the hugemem kernel, a local unprivileged user could use this flaw to gain     privileges.  (CAN-2005-0091)

    An additional flaw in the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4 kernel 4GB/4GB split     patch was discovered. On x86 systems using the hugemem kernel, a local     unprivileged user may be able to use this flaw to cause a denial of service     (crash).  (CAN-2005-0092)

    All Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4 users are advised to upgrade their     kernels to the packages associated with their machine architectures     and configurations as listed in this erratum.

Tenable has extracted the preceding description block directly from the Red Hat Enterprise Linux security advisory.

Note that Nessus has not tested for these issues but has instead relied only on the application's self-reported version number.

ID	Name	Product	Family	Type	Severity
21849	CentOS 3 : kernel (CESA-2005:663)	Nessus	CentOS Local Security Checks	Local	medium
19832	RHEL 3 : kernel (RHSA-2005:663)	Nessus	Red Hat Local Security Checks	Local	medium
17183	RHEL 4 : kernel (RHSA-2005:092)	Nessus	Red Hat Local Security Checks	Local	high

Detections

Analytics

CVE-2005-0179

medium

Tenable Plugins

medium

medium

high