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Red Hat: RHSA-2013:0621-01 Important: Kernel Privilege Escalation Risks

red hat
Calendar Grey March 11, 2013
Scroller Redhat
Red Hat has issued a kernel security update to address local privilege escalation and race condition vulnerabilities, helping to protect systems from unauthorized access.
Updated kernel packages that fix two security issues are now available for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5

Solution

Before applying this update, make sure all previously-released errata relevant to your system have been applied.

This update is available via the Red Hat Network. Details on how to use the Red Hat Network to apply this update are available at https://access.redhat.com/articles/11258

To install kernel packages manually, use "rpm -ivh [package]". Do not use "rpm -Uvh" as that will remove the running kernel binaries from your system. You may use "rpm -e" to remove old kernels after determining that the new kernel functions properly on your system.

Summary

The kernel packages contain the Linux kernel, the core of any Linux operating system.
This update fixes the following security issues:
* A flaw was found in the way file permission checks for the "/dev/cpu/[x]/msr" files were performed in restricted root environments (for example, when using a capability-based security model). A local user with the ability to write to these files could use this flaw to escalate their privileges to kernel level, for example, by writing to the SYSENTER_EIP_MSR register. (CVE-2013-0268, Important)
* A race condition was found in the way the Linux kernel's ptrace implementation handled PTRACE_SETREGS requests when the debuggee was woken due to a SIGKILL signal instead of being stopped. A local, unprivileged user could use this flaw to escalate their privileges. (CVE-2013-0871, Important)
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.

Topics%20covered

Topics Covered

security advisory Red Hat kernel update remote code execution privilege escalation race condition important impact

References

https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2013-0268 https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2013-0871 https://access.redhat.com/security/updates/classification#important

Package List

Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop (v. 5 client):
Source:
i386: kernel-2.6.18-348.3.1.el5.i686.rpm kernel-PAE-2.6.18-348.3.1.el5.i686.rpm kernel-PAE-debuginfo-2.6.18-348.3.1.el5.i686.rpm kernel-PAE-devel-2.6.18-348.3.1.el5.i686.rpm kernel-debug-2.6.18-348.3.1.el5.i686.rpm kernel-debug-debuginfo-2.6.18-348.3.1.el5.i686.rpm kernel-debug-devel-2.6.18-348.3.1.el5.i686.rpm kernel-debuginfo-2.6.18-348.3.1.el5.i686.rpm kernel-debuginfo-common-2.6.18-348.3.1.el5.i686.rpm kernel-devel-2.6.18-348.3.1.el5.i686.rpm kernel-headers-2.6.18-348.3.1.el5.i386.rpm kernel-xen-2.6.18-348.3.1.el5.i686.rpm kernel-xen-debuginfo-2.6.18-348.3.1.el5.i686.rpm kernel-xen-devel-2.6.18-348.3.1.el5.i686.rpm
noarch: kernel-doc-2.6.18-348.3.1.el5.noarch.rpm
x86_64: kernel-2.6.18-348.3.1.el5.x86_64.rpm kernel-debug-2.6.18-348.3.1.el5.x86_64.rpm kernel-debug-debuginfo-2.6.18-348.3.1.el5.x86_64.rpm kernel-debug-devel-2.6.18-348.3.1.el5.x86_64.rpm kernel-debuginfo-2.6.18-348.3.1.el5.x86_64.rpm kernel-debuginfo-common-2.6.18-348.3.1.el5.x86_64.rpm kernel-devel-2.6.18-348.3.1.el5.x86_64.rpm kernel-headers-2.6.18-348.3.1.el5.x86_64.rpm kernel-xen-2.6.18-348.3.1.el5.x86_64.rpm kernel-xen-debuginfo-2.6.18-348.3.1.el5.x86_64.rpm kernel-xen-devel-2.6.18-348.3.1.el5.x86_64.rpm
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (v. 5 server):


Read the Full Advisory


Severity
important
Lowest
Low
Medium
High
Critical

Advisory ID: RHSA-2013:0621-01
Product: Red Hat Enterprise Linux
Advisory URL: https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2013:0621.html
Issue date: 2013-03-11

Topic

Updated kernel packages that fix two security issues are now available for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.The Red Hat Security Response Team has rated this update as having important security impact. A Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) base score, which gives a detailed severity rating, is available from the CVE link in the References section.

Topics%20covered

Topics Covered

security advisory Red Hat kernel update remote code execution privilege escalation race condition important impact

Relevant Releases Architectures

Red Hat Enterprise Linux (v. 5 server) - i386, ia64, noarch, ppc, s390x, x86_64

Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop (v. 5 client) - i386, noarch, x86_64

Bugs Fixed

908693 - CVE-2013-0268 kernel: x86/msr: /dev/cpu/*/msr local privilege escalation

911937 - CVE-2013-0871 kernel: race condition with PTRACE_SETREGS

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