Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.2: RHSA-2009:0021-01 Critical DoS Alert

The kernel packages contain the Linux kernel, the core of any Linux operating system.
This update includes backported fixes for four security issues. These issues only affected users of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.2 Extended Update Support as they have already been addressed for users of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 in the 5.3 update, RHSA-2009:0225.
In accordance with the support policy, future security updates to Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.2 Extended Update Support will only include issues of critical security impact.
* when fput() was called to close a socket, the __scm_destroy() function in the Linux kernel could make indirect recursive calls to itself. This could, potentially, lead to a denial of service issue. (CVE-2008-5029, Important)
* the sendmsg() function in the Linux kernel did not block during UNIX socket garbage collection. This could, potentially, lead to a local denial of service. (CVE-2008-5300, Important)
* a flaw was found in the Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) subsystem. A local, unprivileged user could use the flaw to listen on the same socket more than once, possibly causing a denial of service. (CVE-2008-5079, Important)
* a race condition was found in the Linux kernel "inotify" watch removal and umount implementation. This could allow a local, unprivileged user to cause a privilege escalation or a denial of service. (CVE-2008-5182, Important)
Users should upgrade to these updated packages, which contain backported patches to correct these issues. Note: for this update to take effect, the system must be rebooted.