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______________________________________________________________________________

                        SUSE Security Announcement

        Package:                Linux Kernel
        Announcement-ID:        SuSE-SA:2004:001
        Date:                   Monday, Jan 5th 2004 20:27 MET
        Affected products:      8.0, 8.1, 8.2, 9.0
                                SuSE Linux Enterprise Server 7,
                                SuSE Linux Database Server,
                                SuSE eMail Server III, 3.1
                                SuSE Linux Firewall on CD/Admin host
                                SuSE Linux Office Server
                                SuSE Linux Desktop 1.0
                                SuSE Linux School Server
        Vulnerability Type:     local system compromise
        Severity (1-10):        6
        SUSE default package:   yes
        Cross References:

    Content of this advisory:
        1) security vulnerability resolved:
           - incorrect bounds checking
           problem description, discussion, solution and upgrade information
        2) pending vulnerabilities, solutions, workarounds:
            - mc
            - mod_gzip
            - tripwire
            - cvs
            - irssi
            - atftp
        3) standard appendix (further information)

______________________________________________________________________________

1)  problem description, brief discussion, solution, upgrade information

    The do_mremap() function of the Linux Kernel is used to manage
    (move, resize) Virtual Memory Areas (VMAs). By exploiting an incorrect
    bounds check in do_mremap() during the remapping of memory it is
    possible to create a VMA with the size of 0.
    In normal operation do_mremap() leaves a memory hole of one page and
    creates an additional VMA of two pages. In case of exploitation no
    hole is created but the new VMA has a 0 bytes length.
    The Linux Kernel's memory management is corrupted from this point
    and can be abused by local users to gain root privileges.

    There is no temporary workaround for this bug.

    Please note that on 8.1, the kernel-source package may not be
    installable through rpm, because of a bug in RPM (update of
    the kernel source RPM may take 30 minutes or more, or fail
    entirely). Owing to this problem, the kernel source is not
    available as a regular YOU update.

    However, recognizing our obligation to publish the source along
    with the binary packages, we are making the source available as
    a compressed tar archive, downloadable from the normal FTP
    locations



    SPECIAL INSTALL INSTRUCTIONS:
    =============================    The following paragraphs will guide you through the installation
    process in a step-by-step fashion. The character sequence "****"
    marks the beginning of a new paragraph. In some cases, you decide
    if the paragraph is needed for you or not. Please read through all
    of the steps down to the end. All of the commands that need to be
    executed are required to be run as the superuser (root). Each step
    relies on the steps before to complete successfully.


  **** Step 1: Determine the needed kernel type

    Please use the following command to find the kernel type that is
    installed on your system:

      rpm -qf /boot/vmlinuz

    The following options are possible (disregarding the version and build
    number following the name, separated by the "-" character):

      k_deflt   # default kernel, good for most systems.
      k_i386    # kernel for older processors and chipsets
      k_athlon  # kernel made specifically for AMD Athlon(tm) family processors      k_psmp    # kernel for Pentium-I dual processor systems
      k_smp     # kernel for SMP systems (Pentium-II and above)
      k_smp4G   # kernel for SMP systems which supports a maximum of 4G of RAM

  **** Step 2: Download the package for your system

    Please download the kernel RPM package for your distribution with the
    name starting as indicated by Step 1. The list of all kernel rpm
    packages is appended below. Note: The kernel-source package does not
    contain any binary kernel in bootable form. Instead, it contains the
    sources that the binary kernel rpm packages are made from. It can be
    used by administrators who have decided to build their own kernel.
    Since the kernel-source.rpm is an installable (compiled) package that
    contains sources for the linux kernel, it is not the source RPM for
    the kernel RPM binary packages.

    The kernel RPM binary packages for the distributions can be found at these
    locations below .

      8.0/images/
      8.1/rpm/i586
      8.2/rpm/i586
      9.0/rpm/i586

    After downloading the kernel RPM package for your system, you should
    verify the authenticity of the kernel rpm package using the methods as
    listed in section 3) of each SUSE Security Announcement.


  **** Step 3: Installing your kernel rpm package

    Install the rpm package that you have downloaded in Steps 3 or 4 with
    the command
        rpm -Uhv --nodeps --force 
    where  is the name of the rpm package that you downloaded.

    Warning: After performing this step, your system will likely not be
             able to boot if the following steps have not been fully
             applied.


    If you run SUSE LINUX 8.1 and haven't applied the previous
    kernel update (SUSE-SA:2003:034), AND use the freeswan package,
    you also need to update the freeswan rpm as a dependency as offered
    by YOU (Yast Online Update). The package can be downloaded from
    
  **** Step 4: configuring and creating the initrd

    The initrd is a ramdisk that is being loaded into the memory of your
    system together with the kernel boot image by the bootloader. The
    kernel uses the content of this ramdisk to execute commands that must
    be run before the kernel can mount its actual root filesystem. It is
    usually used to initialize scsi drivers or NIC drivers for diskless
    operation.

    The variable INITRD_MODULES in /etc/sysconfig/kernel determines
    which kernel modules will be loaded in the initrd before the kernel
    has mounted its actual root filesystem. The variable should contain
    your scsi adapter (if any) or filesystem driver modules.

    With the installation of the new kernel, the initrd has to be
    re-packed with the update kernel modules. Please run the command

      mk_initrd

    as root to create a new init ramdisk (initrd) for your system.
    On SuSE Linux 8.1 and later, this is done automatically when the
    RPM is installed.


  **** Step 5: bootloader

    If you have a 7.x system, you must now run the command

      lilo

    as root to initialize the lilo bootloader for your system. Then
    proceed to the next step.

    If you run a SUSE LINUX 8.x or a SLES8 system, there are two options:
    Depending on your software configuration, you have the lilo bootloader
    or the grub bootloader installed and initialized on your system.
    The grub bootloader does not require any further actions to be
    performed after the new kernel images have been moved in place by the
    rpm Update command.
    If you have a lilo bootloader installed and initialized, then the lilo
    program must be run as root. Use the command

      grep LOADER_TYPE /etc/sysconfig/bootloader

    to find out which boot loader is configured. If it is lilo, then you
    must run the lilo command as root. If grub is listed, then your system
    does not require any bootloader initialization.

    Warning: An improperly installed bootloader may render your system
             unbootable.

  **** Step 6: reboot

    If all of the steps above have been successfully applied to your
    system, then the new kernel including the kernel modules and the
    initrd should be ready to boot. The system needs to be rebooted for
    the changes to become active. Please make sure that all steps are
    complete, then reboot using the command
        shutdown -r now
    or
        init 6

    Your system should now shut down and reboot with the new kernel.


    Our maintenance customers are being notified individually. The packages
    are being offered to install from the maintenance web.

    Please download the update package for your distribution and verify its
    integrity by the methods listed in section 3) of this announcement.
    Then, install the package using the command "rpm -Fhv file.rpm" to apply
    the update.
    Our maintenance customers are being notified individually. The packages
    are being offered to install from the maintenance web.

    Missing packages will be published later.


    Intel i386 Platform:

    SuSE-9.0:
          0bbda4a9166edcdd4444fa43a5b37f10
    source rpm(s):
          3cce21862c2d54a82742c74557dcc7fa
    9.0/rpm/i586/k_deflt-2.4.21-166.i586.rpm
      6df247b9f114e8636de2c673747ef6ea
    source rpm(s):
    9.0/rpm/src/k_deflt-2.4.21-166.src.rpm
      c06a81d1e7912db429df25e8e8d754b7
    9.0/rpm/i586/k_smp-2.4.21-166.i586.rpm
      0da9470eb573ecb5c801bedbd5dbf666
    source rpm(s):
          34393ea6b46a8b8859d51020e1dc275e
          0b0d23a4a6918e57a1e7c45504a50df7
    source rpm(s):
    9.0/rpm/src/k_smp4G-2.4.21-166.src.rpm
      26cadc4c9d77dc6e433bedc458166236
          7e18d9b0b89ef72bee40bbf150dd0470
    source rpm(s):
          ad8c357792c0d34570c9ba54a579d867
          48b46c943cc15aacfba0ec68090de1f6
    source rpm(s):
          ef71c55f61b595edc24be7c318237432

    SuSE-8.2:
          61de636fab3149ee5d45d16dccf8d0e8
    source rpm(s):
          80b8f44b6f8f4d039b8954c709b457b0
          c25b57bc5d67d87177abf7953f022331
    source rpm(s):
          29d014e79a3ee0b14a23cb0e4bdd0f0e
          d42041b08cdee2d9959a4a6dad8b6e9d
    source rpm(s):
    8.2/rpm/src/k_smp-2.4.20-102.src.rpm
      22e598ebf546cd9378c852042b602f2f
          c2e0455b45eac55c97e13322ab40e4bc
    source rpm(s):
          68b2d35ae0de009ac3fbc6ee9a0bb3fd
          0f539af39523fd27232289014db36202
    source rpm(s):
          14c238bbbd7758abc2b4113a7297f2b5

    SuSE-8.1:
          8299b1153d3d9d81236e4e77f3ae66e2
    source rpm(s):
    8.1/rpm/src/k_athlon-2.4.21-168.src.rpm
      0705e6bb739aaec77bc9801760e60051
          fea1ffe95acdbc5c00d3272b3867bd39
    source rpm(s):
          aeff9339c71c275fd3c7e9ebcf49cc4f
    8.1/rpm/i586/k_smp-2.4.21-168.i586.rpm
      f4e41bdd0806673d82dc0971e36da0e1
    source rpm(s):
          f352afbf4c6d679fd4bf40347bd7989c
    8.1/rpm/i586/k_debug-2.4.21-168.i586.rpm
      81e9a2516e7b9a8d0234f2d6ee9e4444
    source rpm(s):
          8b6c8e51c93c9dcbf5d34587de722a4a
          9961f14d44c40a83be800ad463e17e51
    source rpm(s):
          f3caa2e715d24a2987408e29e0623737

    SuSE-8.0:
          62ae55de1c6abbe821b99165cbccdce7
    source rpm(s):
          c65eadb1dd7225463f7a29979ab43dd8
          7fdec3995171a6d88f293c10c41e6991
    source rpm(s):
          08a2cba4382f4bb8adfc5cb8f80677d1
          955386318df968aac6c66b6071eb466a
    source rpm(s):
          fe87f59c3e818fbb9eedcb211f9d0bf4
          249a3cd1dcc1edaabf00d72874ba4aa2
    source rpm(s):
          7e5cbc3af87fdedbd8b6dc829e038d63
          bd80346beef2e459009584065fccc7eb
    source rpm(s):
    8.0/zq1/k_i386-2.4.18-282.src.rpm
      ce704a3481d8b84f9fdd0b83784e74a6


    Opteron x86_64 Platform:

    SuSE-9.0:
          3dd54a4105bad6c4f3084e70aaa45410
    source rpm(s):
          d88ca0142409a98a7e4e9f4f7b2e9bf8
          b97e9d91ef710b0b801536294d99ba1a
    source rpm(s):
          6221b0f5893499f5926c9dd529fceb5c
          1a27668dff4ae3c405f18399432a326e
    source rpm(s):
          301e1d8ac232d3a000f373a928deee5f

______________________________________________________________________________

2)  Pending vulnerabilities in SUSE Distributions and Workarounds:

    - mc
    By using a special combination of links in archive-files it is possible
    to execute arbitrary commands while mc tries to open it in its VFS.
    The packages will be release as soon.

    - mod_gzip
    The apache module mod_gzip is vulnerable to remote code execution
    while running in debug-mode. We do not ship this module in debug-mode
    but future versions will include the fix.
    Additionally the mod_gzip code was audited to fix more possible security
    related bugs.

    - tripwire
    Tripwire is a file integrity checker. The tripwire version on SuSE Linux
    8.2 and 9.0 do crash when a requested file does not exists.
    New packages will be available soon.

    - cvs
    The cvs server-side can be tricked to create files in the root filesystem
    of the server by requesting malformed modules. The permissions on the
    root filesystem normally prevent this malfunction.
    New packages will be available soon.

    - irssi
    Under special circumstances the the irc-client irssi can be crashed
    remotely by other irc-clients.
    New packages are available on our FTP servers.

    - atftp
    A buffer overflow vulnerability discovered by Rick Patel has been
    fixed in the atftpd (trivial file transfer protocol, UDP oriented)
    daemon, contained in the atftp package. Update packages for the
    affected SUSE Linux distributions 8.1 and 8.2 have been published on
    our ftp server today.
    We explicitly thank Dirk Mueller, KDE developer, for notifying SUSE
    Security about the pending treatment of this incident.
    New packages are available on our FTP servers.

______________________________________________________________________________

3)  standard appendix: authenticity verification, additional information

  - Package authenticity verification:

    SUSE update packages are available on many mirror ftp servers all over
    the world. While this service is being considered valuable and important
    to the free and open source software community, many users wish to be
    sure about the origin of the package and its content before installing
    the package. There are two verification methods that can be used
    independently from each other to prove the authenticity of a downloaded
    file or rpm package:
    1) md5sums as provided in the (cryptographically signed) announcement.
    2) using the internal gpg signatures of the rpm package.

    1) execute the command 
        md5sum 
       after you downloaded the file from a SUSE ftp server or its mirrors.
       Then, compare the resulting md5sum with the one that is listed in the
       announcement. Since the announcement containing the checksums is
       cryptographically signed (usually using the key security@suse.de), 
       the checksums show proof of the authenticity of the package.
       We disrecommend to subscribe to security lists which cause the 
       email message containing the announcement to be modified so that
       the signature does not match after transport through the mailing 
       list software.
       Downsides: You must be able to verify the authenticity of the
       announcement in the first place. If RPM packages are being rebuilt
       and a new version of a package is published on the ftp server, all 
       md5 sums for the files are useless.

    2) rpm package signatures provide an easy way to verify the authenticity
       of an rpm package. Use the command
        rpm -v --checksig 
       to verify the signature of the package, where  is the
       filename of the rpm package that you have downloaded. Of course, 
       package authenticity verification can only target an un-installed rpm
       package file.
       Prerequisites:
        a) gpg is installed
        b) The package is signed using a certain key. The public part of this
           key must be installed by the gpg program in the directory 
           ~/.gnupg/ under the user's home directory who performs the
           signature verification (usually root). You can import the key
           that is used by SUSE in rpm packages for SUSE Linux by saving
           this announcement to a file ("announcement.txt") and
           running the command (do "su -" to be root):
            gpg --batch; gpg < announcement.txt | gpg --import
           SUSE Linux distributions version 7.1 and thereafter install the
           key "build@suse.de" upon installation or upgrade, provided that
           the package gpg is installed. The file containing the public key
           is placed at the top-level directory of the first CD (pubring.gpg)
           and at  .


  - SUSE runs two security mailing lists to which any interested party may
    subscribe:

    suse-security@suse.com
        -   general/linux/SUSE security discussion. 
            All SUSE security announcements are sent to this list.
            To subscribe, send an email to 
                .

    suse-security-announce@suse.com
        -   SUSE's announce-only mailing list.
            Only SUSE's security announcements are sent to this list.
            To subscribe, send an email to
                .

    For general information or the frequently asked questions (faq) 
    send mail to:
         or
         respectively.

    ====================================================================    SUSE's security contact is  or .
    The  public key is listed below.
    ====================================================================