The find_target function in ptrace32.c in the Linux kernel 2.4.x before 2.4.29 does not properly handle a NULL return value from another function, which allows local users to cause a denial of service (kernel crash/oops) by running a 32-bit ltrace program with the -i option on a 64-bit executable program.

Several local and remote vulnerabilities have been discovered in the Linux kernel that may lead to a denial of service or the execution of arbitrary code. The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures project identifies the following problems :

  - CVE-2005-0756     Alexander Nyberg discovered that the ptrace() system     call does not properly verify addresses on the amd64     architecture which can be exploited by a local attacker     to crash the kernel.

  - CVE-2005-0757     A problem in the offset handling in the xattr file     system code for ext3 has been discovered that may allow     users on 64-bit systems that have access to an ext3     filesystem with extended attributes to cause the kernel     to crash.

  - CVE-2005-1762     A vulnerability has been discovered in the ptrace()     system call on the amd64 architecture that allows a     local attacker to cause the kernel to crash.

  - CVE-2005-1767     A vulnerability has been discovered in the stack segment     fault handler that could allow a local attacker to cause     a stack exception that will lead the kernel to crash     under certain circumstances.

  - CVE-2005-1768     Ilja van Sprundel discovered a race condition in the     IA32 (x86) compatibility execve() systemcall for amd64     and IA64 that allows local attackers to cause the kernel     to panic and possibly execute arbitrary code.

  - CVE-2005-2456     Balazs Scheidler discovered that a local attacker could     call setsockopt() with an invalid xfrm_user policy     message which would cause the kernel to write beyond the     boundaries of an array and crash.

  - CVE-2005-2458     Vladimir Volovich discovered a bug in the zlib routines     which are also present in the Linux kernel and allows     remote attackers to crash the kernel.

  - CVE-2005-2459     Another vulnerability has been discovered in the zlib     routines which are also present in the Linux kernel and     allows remote attackers to crash the kernel.

  - CVE-2005-2553     A NULL pointer dereference in ptrace when tracing a     64-bit executable can cause the kernel to crash.

  - CVE-2005-2801     Andreas Gruenbacher discovered a bug in the ext2 and     ext3 file systems. When data areas are to be shared     among two inodes not all information were compared for     equality, which could expose wrong ACLs for files.

  - CVE-2005-2872     Chad Walstrom discovered that the ipt_recent kernel     module to stop SSH bruteforce attacks could cause the     kernel to crash on 64-bit architectures.

  - CVE-2005-3275     An error in the NAT code allows remote attackers to     cause a denial of service (memory corruption) by causing     two packets for the same protocol to be NATed at the     same time, which leads to memory corruption.

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.

ID	Name	Product	Family	Severity
22787	Debian DSA-921-1 : kernel-source-2.4.27 - several vulnerabilities	Nessus	Debian Local Security Checks	medium
21849	CentOS 3 : kernel (CESA-2005:663)	Nessus	CentOS Local Security Checks	medium
19832	RHEL 3 : kernel (RHSA-2005:663)	Nessus	Red Hat Local Security Checks	medium

Detections

Analytics

CVE-2005-2553

medium

Tenable Plugins

medium

medium

medium