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Alerts This Week
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Red Hat 6.1 RHSA-2013:0661-01 Important: Kernel Privilege Escalation

red hat
Calendar Grey March 19, 2013
Scroller Redhat
Important kernel patch for Red Hat Enterprise Linux resolves critical security flaws and system issues. Update recommended for protection.
Updated kernel packages that fix one security issue and one bug are now available for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.1 Extended Update Support

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/knowledge/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 issue:
* 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)
This update also fixes the following bug:
* Due to the incorrect validation of a pointer dereference in the d_validate() function, running a command such as ls or find on the MultiVersion File System (MVFS), used by IBM Rational ClearCase, for example, could trigger a kernel panic. This update modifies d_validate() to verify the parent-child dentry relationship by searching through the parent's d_child list. The kernel no longer panics in this situation. (BZ#915580)
Users should upgrade to these updated packages, which contain backported patches to resolve these issues. The system must be rebooted for this update to take effect.

References

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

Package List

Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server EUS (v. 6.1):
Source: kernel-2.6.32-131.38.1.el6.src.rpm
i386: kernel-2.6.32-131.38.1.el6.i686.rpm kernel-debug-2.6.32-131.38.1.el6.i686.rpm kernel-debug-debuginfo-2.6.32-131.38.1.el6.i686.rpm kernel-debug-devel-2.6.32-131.38.1.el6.i686.rpm kernel-debuginfo-2.6.32-131.38.1.el6.i686.rpm kernel-debuginfo-common-i686-2.6.32-131.38.1.el6.i686.rpm kernel-devel-2.6.32-131.38.1.el6.i686.rpm kernel-headers-2.6.32-131.38.1.el6.i686.rpm perf-2.6.32-131.38.1.el6.i686.rpm perf-debuginfo-2.6.32-131.38.1.el6.i686.rpm
noarch: kernel-doc-2.6.32-131.38.1.el6.noarch.rpm kernel-firmware-2.6.32-131.38.1.el6.noarch.rpm
ppc64: kernel-2.6.32-131.38.1.el6.ppc64.rpm kernel-bootwrapper-2.6.32-131.38.1.el6.ppc64.rpm kernel-debug-2.6.32-131.38.1.el6.ppc64.rpm kernel-debug-debuginfo-2.6.32-131.38.1.el6.ppc64.rpm kernel-debug-devel-2.6.32-131.38.1.el6.ppc64.rpm kernel-debuginfo-2.6.32-131.38.1.el6.ppc64.rpm kernel-debuginfo-common-ppc64-2.6.32-131.38.1.el6.ppc64.rpm kernel-devel-2.6.32-131.38.1.el6.ppc64.rpm kernel-headers-2.6.32-131.38.1.el6.ppc64.rpm perf-2.6.32-131.38.1.el6.ppc64.rpm perf-debuginfo-2.6.32-131.38.1.el6.ppc64.rpm
s390x: kernel-2.6.32-131.38.1.el6.s390x.rpm kernel-debug-2.6.32-131.38.1.el6.s390x.rpm

Read the Full Advisory


Severity
important
Lowest
Low
Medium
High
Critical

Advisory ID: RHSA-2013:0661-01
Product: Red Hat Enterprise Linux
Issue date: 2013-03-19

Topic

Updated kernel packages that fix one security issue and one bug are nowavailable for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.1 Extended Update Support.The Red Hat Security Response Team has rated this update as havingimportant security impact. A Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS)base score, which gives a detailed severity rating, is available from theCVE link in the References section.

Relevant Releases Architectures

Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server EUS (v. 6.1) - i386, noarch, ppc64, s390x, x86_64

Bugs Fixed

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

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