Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 IMPORTANT Security Update [ 4-Nov-2008 ]

Red Hat today released kernel updates to fix at least 15 security flaws in its core called Linux kernel. RHEL users can grab the latest updates from RHN website or by simply running yum update command. This update has been rated as having important security impact.

The Xen implementation did not prevent applications running in a para-virtualized guest from modifying CR4 TSC. This could cause a local denial of service. (CVE-2007-5907, Important)

Tavis Ormandy reported missing boundary checks in the Virtual Dynamic Shared Objects (vDSO) implementation. This could allow a local unprivileged user to cause a denial of service or escalate privileges. (CVE-2008-3527, Important)

The do_truncate() and generic_file_splice_write() functions did not clear the setuid and setgid bits. This could allow a local unprivileged user to obtain access to privileged information. (CVE-2008-4210, CVE-2008-3833, Important)

A flaw was found in the Linux kernel splice implementation. This could cause a local denial of service when there is a certain failure in the add_to_page_cache_lru() function. (CVE-2008-4302, Important)

How do I upgrade RHEL 5 system kernel?

Simply type the command:
# yum update -y # reboot

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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }

1 Han Solo November 5, 2008 at 6:14 pm: ******* NOTE: this is NOT A CRITICAL security update ****
Redhat categorizes this as an ‘IMPORTANT’ update, which is well below critical.
IMPORTANT < MODERATE < CRITICAL.
This is a very low level update according to redhat…no need to put “CRITICAL” in your headline.
2 vivek November 5, 2008 at 6:26 pm: Thanks for the heads up. The article title has been updated.