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Red Hat: RHSA-2014:0801-01 Critical: Kernel Privilege Escalation Issues

red hat
Calendar Grey June 26, 2014
Dist Redhat Esm H88
Crucial security patch released by Red Hat tackles significant vulnerabilities within certain software components. Immediate update suggested!
Updated kernel packages that fix two security issues are now available for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.6 Long Life

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.
* A flaw was found in the way the Linux kernel's floppy driver handled user space provided data in certain error code paths while processing FDRAWCMD IOCTL commands. A local user with write access to /dev/fdX could use this flaw to free (using the kfree() function) arbitrary kernel memory. (CVE-2014-1737, Important)
* It was found that the Linux kernel's floppy driver leaked internal kernel memory addresses to user space during the processing of the FDRAWCMD IOCTL command. A local user with write access to /dev/fdX could use this flaw to obtain information about the kernel heap arrangement. (CVE-2014-1738, Low)
Note: A local user with write access to /dev/fdX could use these two flaws (CVE-2014-1737 in combination with CVE-2014-1738) to escalate their privileges on the system.
Red Hat would like to thank Matthew Daley for reporting these issues.
All kernel users are advised to 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 critical privilege escalation memory leak kernel issue user access

References

https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2014-1737 https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2014-1738 https://access.redhat.com/security/updates/classification#important

Package List

Red Hat Enterprise Linux LL (v. 5.6 server):
Source: kernel-2.6.18-238.53.1.el5.src.rpm
i386: kernel-2.6.18-238.53.1.el5.i686.rpm kernel-PAE-2.6.18-238.53.1.el5.i686.rpm kernel-PAE-debuginfo-2.6.18-238.53.1.el5.i686.rpm kernel-PAE-devel-2.6.18-238.53.1.el5.i686.rpm kernel-debug-2.6.18-238.53.1.el5.i686.rpm kernel-debug-debuginfo-2.6.18-238.53.1.el5.i686.rpm kernel-debug-devel-2.6.18-238.53.1.el5.i686.rpm kernel-debuginfo-2.6.18-238.53.1.el5.i686.rpm kernel-debuginfo-common-2.6.18-238.53.1.el5.i686.rpm kernel-devel-2.6.18-238.53.1.el5.i686.rpm kernel-headers-2.6.18-238.53.1.el5.i386.rpm kernel-xen-2.6.18-238.53.1.el5.i686.rpm kernel-xen-debuginfo-2.6.18-238.53.1.el5.i686.rpm kernel-xen-devel-2.6.18-238.53.1.el5.i686.rpm
ia64: kernel-2.6.18-238.53.1.el5.ia64.rpm kernel-debug-2.6.18-238.53.1.el5.ia64.rpm kernel-debug-debuginfo-2.6.18-238.53.1.el5.ia64.rpm kernel-debug-devel-2.6.18-238.53.1.el5.ia64.rpm kernel-debuginfo-2.6.18-238.53.1.el5.ia64.rpm kernel-debuginfo-common-2.6.18-238.53.1.el5.ia64.rpm kernel-devel-2.6.18-238.53.1.el5.ia64.rpm kernel-headers-2.6.18-238.53.1.el5.ia64.rpm kernel-xen-2.6.18-238.53.1.el5.ia64.rpm kernel-xen-debuginfo-2.6.18-238.53.1.el5.ia64.rpm kernel-xen-devel-2.6.18-238.53.1.el5.ia64.rpm
noarch: kernel-doc-2.6.18-238.53.1.el5.noarch.rpm


Read the Full Advisory


Severity
important
Lowest
Low
Medium
High
Critical

Advisory ID: RHSA-2014:0801-01
Product: Red Hat Enterprise Linux
Advisory URL: https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2014:0801.html
Issue date: 2014-06-26

Topic

Updated kernel packages that fix two security issues are now available forRed Hat Enterprise Linux 5.6 Long Life.The Red Hat Security Response Team has rated this update as havingImportant security impact. Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) basescores, which give detailed severity ratings, are available for eachvulnerability from the CVE links in the References section.

Topics%20covered

Topics Covered

security advisory Red Hat critical privilege escalation memory leak kernel issue user access

Relevant Releases Architectures

Red Hat Enterprise Linux LL (v. 5.6 server) - i386, ia64, noarch, x86_64

Bugs Fixed

1094299 - CVE-2014-1737 CVE-2014-1738 kernel: block: floppy: privilege escalation via FDRAWCMD floppy ioctl command

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