Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4: RHSA-2011:0162-01 Critical Kernel Update

The kernel packages contain the Linux kernel, the core of any Linux operating system.
This update fixes the following security issues:
* A heap overflow flaw was found in the Linux kernel's Transparent Inter-Process Communication protocol (TIPC) implementation. A local, unprivileged user could use this flaw to escalate their privileges. (CVE-2010-3859, Important)
* Missing sanity checks were found in gdth_ioctl_alloc() in the gdth driver in the Linux kernel. A local user with access to "/dev/gdth" on a 64-bit system could use these flaws to cause a denial of service or escalate their privileges. (CVE-2010-4157, Moderate)
* A NULL pointer dereference flaw was found in the Bluetooth HCI UART driver in the Linux kernel. A local, unprivileged user could use this flaw to cause a denial of service. (CVE-2010-4242, Moderate)
* A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's garbage collector for AF_UNIX sockets. A local, unprivileged user could use this flaw to trigger a denial of service (out-of-memory condition). (CVE-2010-4249, Moderate)
* Missing initialization flaws were found in the Linux kernel. A local, unprivileged user could use these flaws to cause information leaks. (CVE-2010-3876, CVE-2010-4072, CVE-2010-4073, CVE-2010-4075, CVE-2010-4080, CVE-2010-4083, CVE-2010-4158, Low)
Red Hat would like to thank Alan Cox for reporting CVE-2010-4242; Vegard Nossum for reporting CVE-2010-4249; Vasiliy Kulikov for reporting CVE-2010-3876; Kees Cook for reporting CVE-2010-4072; and Dan Rosenberg for reporting CVE-2010-4073, CVE-2010-4075, CVE-2010-4080, CVE-2010-4083, and CVE-2010-4158.
This update also fixes the following bugs:
* A flaw was found in the Linux kernel where, if used in conjunction with another flaw that can result in a kernel Oops, could possibly lead to privilege escalation. It does not affect Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4 as the sysctl panic_on_oops variable is turned on by default. However, as a preventive measure if the variable is turned off by an administrator, this update addresses the issue. Red Hat would like to thank Nelson Elhage for reporting this vulnerability. (BZ#659568)
* On Intel I/O Controller Hub 9 (ICH9) hardware, jumbo frame support is achieved by using page-based sk_buff buffers without any packet split. The entire frame data is copied to the page(s) rather than some to the skb->data area and some to the page(s) when performing a typical packet-split. This caused problems with the filtering code and frames were getting dropped before they were received by listening applications. This bug could eventually lead to the IP address being released and not being able to be re-acquired from DHCP if the MTU (Maximum Transfer Unit) was changed (for an affected interface using the e1000e driver). With this update, frames are no longer dropped and an IP address is correctly re-acquired after a previous release. (BZ#664667)
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.