RHSA-2015:0290: Important: kernel security, bug fix, and enhancement update

First published: Thu Mar 05 2015(Updated: )

The kernel packages contain the Linux kernel, the core of any Linux<br>operating system.<br><li> A flaw was found in the way the Linux kernel's XFS file system handled</li> replacing of remote attributes under certain conditions. A local user with<br>access to XFS file system mount could potentially use this flaw to escalate<br>their privileges on the system. (CVE-2015-0274, Important)<br><li> It was found that the Linux kernel's KVM implementation did not ensure</li> that the host CR4 control register value remained unchanged across VM<br>entries on the same virtual CPU. A local, unprivileged user could use this<br>flaw to cause denial of service on the system. (CVE-2014-3690, Moderate)<br><li> A flaw was found in the way Linux kernel's Transparent Huge Pages (THP)</li> implementation handled non-huge page migration. A local, unprivileged user<br>could use this flaw to crash the kernel by migrating transparent hugepages.<br>(CVE-2014-3940, Moderate)<br><li> An out-of-bounds memory access flaw was found in the syscall tracing</li> functionality of the Linux kernel's perf subsystem. A local, unprivileged<br>user could use this flaw to crash the system. (CVE-2014-7825, Moderate)<br><li> An out-of-bounds memory access flaw was found in the syscall tracing</li> functionality of the Linux kernel's ftrace subsystem. On a system with<br>ftrace syscall tracing enabled, a local, unprivileged user could use this<br>flaw to crash the system, or escalate their privileges. (CVE-2014-7826,<br>Moderate)<br><li> A race condition flaw was found in the Linux kernel's ext4 file system</li> implementation that allowed a local, unprivileged user to crash the system<br>by simultaneously writing to a file and toggling the O_DIRECT flag using<br>fcntl(F_SETFL) on that file. (CVE-2014-8086, Moderate)<br><li> A flaw was found in the way the Linux kernel's netfilter subsystem</li> handled generic protocol tracking. As demonstrated in the Stream Control<br>Transmission Protocol (SCTP) case, a remote attacker could use this flaw to<br>bypass intended iptables rule restrictions when the associated connection<br>tracking module was not loaded on the system. (CVE-2014-8160, Moderate)<br><li> It was found that due to excessive files_lock locking, a soft lockup</li> could be triggered in the Linux kernel when performing asynchronous I/O<br>operations. A local, unprivileged user could use this flaw to crash the<br>system. (CVE-2014-8172, Moderate)<br><li> A NULL pointer dereference flaw was found in the way the Linux kernel's</li> madvise MADV_WILLNEED functionality handled page table locking. A local,<br>unprivileged user could use this flaw to crash the system. (CVE-2014-8173,<br>Moderate)<br><li> An information leak flaw was found in the Linux kernel's IEEE 802.11</li> wireless networking implementation. When software encryption was used, a<br>remote attacker could use this flaw to leak up to 8 bytes of plaintext.<br>(CVE-2014-8709, Low)<br><li> A stack-based buffer overflow flaw was found in the TechnoTrend/Hauppauge</li> DEC USB device driver. A local user with write access to the corresponding<br>device could use this flaw to crash the kernel or, potentially, elevate<br>their privileges on the system. (CVE-2014-8884, Low)<br>Red Hat would like to thank Eric Windisch of the Docker project for<br>reporting CVE-2015-0274, Andy Lutomirski for reporting CVE-2014-3690, and<br>Robert Święcki for reporting CVE-2014-7825 and CVE-2014-7826.<br>This update also fixes several hundred bugs and adds numerous enhancements.<br>Refer to the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.1 Release Notes for information on<br>the most significant of these changes, and the following Knowledgebase<br>article for further information: <a href="https://access.redhat.com/articles/1352803" target="_blank">https://access.redhat.com/articles/1352803</a> All Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 users are advised to install these updated<br>packages, which correct these issues and add these enhancements. The system<br>must be rebooted for this update to take effect.

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