Scientific Linux Security Update : kernel on SL5.x i386/x86_64 (20120209)

high Nessus Plugin ID 61241

Synopsis

The remote Scientific Linux host is missing one or more security updates.

Description

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

This update fixes the following security issues :

- Using the SG_IO ioctl to issue SCSI requests to partitions or LVM volumes resulted in the requests being passed to the underlying block device. If a privileged user only had access to a single partition or LVM volume, they could use this flaw to bypass those restrictions and gain read and write access (and be able to issue other SCSI commands) to the entire block device. (CVE-2011-4127, Important)

- A flaw was found in the way the Linux kernel handled robust list pointers of user-space held futexes across exec() calls. A local, unprivileged user could use this flaw to cause a denial of service or, eventually, escalate their privileges. (CVE-2012-0028, Important)

- A flaw was found in the Linux kernel in the way splitting two extents in ext4_ext_convert_to_initialized() worked. A local, unprivileged user with the ability to mount and unmount ext4 file systems could use this flaw to cause a denial of service. (CVE-2011-3638, Moderate)

- A flaw was found in the way the Linux kernel's journal_unmap_buffer() function handled buffer head states. On systems that have an ext4 file system with a journal mounted, a local, unprivileged user could use this flaw to cause a denial of service. (CVE-2011-4086, Moderate)

- A divide-by-zero flaw was found in the Linux kernel's igmp_heard_query() function. An attacker able to send certain IGMP (Internet Group Management Protocol) packets to a target system could use this flaw to cause a denial of service. (CVE-2012-0207, Moderate)

This update also fixes the following bugs :

- When a host was in recovery mode and a SCSI scan operation was initiated, the scan operation failed and provided no error output. This bug has been fixed and the SCSI layer now waits for recovery of the host to complete scan operations for devices.

- SG_IO ioctls were not implemented correctly in the previous virtio-blk driver. Sending an SG_IO ioctl request to a virtio-blk disk caused the sending thread to enter an uninterruptible sleep state ('D' state).
With this update, SG_IO ioctls are rejected by the virtio-blk driver: the ioctl system call will simply return an ENOTTY ('Inappropriate ioctl for device') error and the thread will continue normally.

Users should upgrade to these updated packages, which contain backported patches to correct these issues. The system must be rebooted for this update to take effect.

Solution

Update the affected packages.

See Also

http://www.nessus.org/u?6effc47a

Plugin Details

Severity: High

ID: 61241

File Name: sl_20120209_kernel_on_SL5_x.nasl

Version: 1.6

Type: local

Agent: unix

Published: 8/1/2012

Updated: 1/14/2021

Supported Sensors: Nessus Agent, Nessus

Risk Information

VPR

Risk Factor: Medium

Score: 6.7

CVSS v2

Risk Factor: High

Base Score: 7.8

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

Vulnerability Information

CPE: p-cpe:/a:fermilab:scientific_linux:kernel, p-cpe:/a:fermilab:scientific_linux:kernel-pae, p-cpe:/a:fermilab:scientific_linux:kernel-pae-debuginfo, p-cpe:/a:fermilab:scientific_linux:kernel-pae-devel, p-cpe:/a:fermilab:scientific_linux:kernel-debug, p-cpe:/a:fermilab:scientific_linux:kernel-debug-debuginfo, p-cpe:/a:fermilab:scientific_linux:kernel-debug-devel, p-cpe:/a:fermilab:scientific_linux:kernel-debuginfo, p-cpe:/a:fermilab:scientific_linux:kernel-debuginfo-common, p-cpe:/a:fermilab:scientific_linux:kernel-devel, p-cpe:/a:fermilab:scientific_linux:kernel-doc, p-cpe:/a:fermilab:scientific_linux:kernel-headers, p-cpe:/a:fermilab:scientific_linux:kernel-xen, p-cpe:/a:fermilab:scientific_linux:kernel-xen-debuginfo, p-cpe:/a:fermilab:scientific_linux:kernel-xen-devel, x-cpe:/o:fermilab:scientific_linux

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

Exploit Available: true

Exploit Ease: Exploits are available

Patch Publication Date: 2/9/2012

Vulnerability Publication Date: 5/17/2012

Exploitable With

Core Impact

Reference Information

CVE: CVE-2011-3638, CVE-2011-4086, CVE-2011-4127, CVE-2012-0028, CVE-2012-0207