Security update for Linux kernel

Knowledgebase

(Last modified: 19NOV2004)

solutions Security update for Linux kernel SuSE Linux Maintenance Web (16b7844739d62662da94bd667168091a)

Applies to

Package: k_deflt
k_numa
k_smp
kernel-source
Product(s): SuSE Linux Enterprise Server 8 for AMD64

Release: 20041119
Obsoletes: none

Indications

Everyone using the Linux Kernel on x86_64 architecture should update.

Contraindications

None.

Problem description

Following security issues have been fixed:

Fixed / Added ELF loader error handling where it was missing, which could lead to a local privilege escalation. This was found by Paul Starzetz of isec.pl.
Fixed several smbfs boundary checking problems which could lead to buffer overflows. This issue was found by Stefan Essern and was assigned the CVE ID CAN-2004-0883.
Fixed a possible userspace corruptions / data disclosure problem on SMP machines with more than 4 GB of RAM.
Fixed a denial of service condition in a.out support.

Solution

Please install the updates provided at the location noted below.

Installation notes

This update is provided as an RPM package that can easily be installed onto a running system.
First, find out which kernel package to use, for example with


rpm -qf /boot/vmlinuz

Download the kernel image fitting your setup and install it with either:

rpm -Fvh k_deflt-2.4.*.rpm for the default kernel image, or
rpm -Fhv k_smp-2.4.*.rpm for the SMP kernel image, or
rpm -Fhv k_numa-2.4.*.rpm for the NUMA kernel image

Please do only install one of these kernels, not all of them.
Finally, reboot the system with


shutdown -r now

to load the new kernel (replace "now" with the appropriate amount of time to allow local users to cleanly log out, for example "+5" for five minutes.)

links to download packages

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 8 for AMD64 (x86_64)

Download Source Packages

Download the source code of the patches for maintained products.

Disclaimer

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