CentOS 3 : kernel (CESA-2008:0973)

high Nessus Plugin ID 35186

Synopsis

The remote CentOS host is missing one or more security updates.

Description

Updated kernel packages that resolve several security issues and fix various bugs are now available for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3.

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

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

This update addresses the following security issues :

* Tavis Ormandy discovered a deficiency in the Linux kernel 32-bit and 64-bit emulation. This could allow a local, unprivileged user to prepare and run a specially crafted binary which would use this deficiency to leak uninitialized and potentially sensitive data.
(CVE-2008-0598, Important)

* a possible kernel memory leak was found in the Linux kernel Simple Internet Transition (SIT) INET6 implementation. This could allow a local, unprivileged user to cause a denial of service. (CVE-2008-2136, Important)

* missing capability checks were found in the SBNI WAN driver which could allow a local user to bypass intended capability restrictions.
(CVE-2008-3525, Important)

* the do_truncate() and generic_file_splice_write() functions did not clear the setuid and setgid bits. This could allow a local, unprivileged user to obtain access to privileged information.
(CVE-2008-4210, Important)

* a buffer overflow flaw was found in Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) subsystem. A local, unprivileged user could use this flaw to cause a denial of service. (CVE-2007-6063, Moderate)

* multiple NULL pointer dereferences were found in various Linux kernel network drivers. These drivers were missing checks for terminal validity, which could allow privilege escalation. (CVE-2008-2812, Moderate)

* a deficiency was found in the Linux kernel virtual filesystem (VFS) implementation. This could allow a local, unprivileged user to attempt file creation within deleted directories, possibly causing a denial of service. (CVE-2008-3275, Moderate)

This update also fixes the following bugs :

* the incorrect kunmap function was used in nfs_xdr_readlinkres.
kunmap() was used where kunmap_atomic() should have been. As a consequence, if an NFSv2 or NFSv3 server exported a volume containing a symlink which included a path equal to or longer than the local system's PATH_MAX, accessing the link caused a kernel oops. This has been corrected in this update.

* mptctl_gettargetinfo did not check if pIoc3 was NULL before using it as a pointer. This caused a kernel panic in mptctl_gettargetinfo in some circumstances. A check has been added which prevents this.

* lost tick compensation code in the timer interrupt routine triggered without apparent cause. When running as a fully-virtualized client, this spurious triggering caused the 64-bit version of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3 to present highly inaccurate times. With this update the lost tick compensation code is turned off when the operating system is running as a fully-virtualized client under Xen or VMware(r).

All Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3 users should install this updated kernel which addresses these vulnerabilities and fixes these bugs.

Solution

Update the affected kernel packages.

See Also

http://www.nessus.org/u?6d254e94

http://www.nessus.org/u?7e5400ed

http://www.nessus.org/u?20f73922

Plugin Details

Severity: High

ID: 35186

File Name: centos_RHSA-2008-0973.nasl

Version: 1.23

Type: local

Agent: unix

Published: 12/17/2008

Updated: 1/4/2021

Supported Sensors: Agentless Assessment, Frictionless Assessment Agent, Frictionless Assessment AWS, Frictionless Assessment Azure, Nessus

Risk Information

VPR

Risk Factor: High

Score: 8.6

CVSS v2

Risk Factor: High

Base Score: 7.8

Temporal Score: 6.8

Vector: CVSS2#AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:C

Vulnerability Information

CPE: p-cpe:/a:centos:centos:kernel, p-cpe:/a:centos:centos:kernel-boot, p-cpe:/a:centos:centos:kernel-doc, p-cpe:/a:centos:centos:kernel-hugemem, p-cpe:/a:centos:centos:kernel-hugemem-unsupported, p-cpe:/a:centos:centos:kernel-smp, p-cpe:/a:centos:centos:kernel-smp-unsupported, p-cpe:/a:centos:centos:kernel-source, p-cpe:/a:centos:centos:kernel-unsupported, cpe:/o:centos:centos:3

Required KB Items: Host/local_checks_enabled, Host/CentOS/release, Host/CentOS/rpm-list

Exploit Available: true

Exploit Ease: Exploits are available

Patch Publication Date: 12/17/2008

Vulnerability Publication Date: 11/20/2007

Reference Information

CVE: CVE-2007-6063, CVE-2008-0598, CVE-2008-2136, CVE-2008-2812, CVE-2008-3275, CVE-2008-3525, CVE-2008-4210

BID: 26605, 29235, 29942, 30076, 30647, 31368

CWE: 119, 20, 200, 264, 399

RHSA: 2008:0973