RHSA-2010:0711: kernel security update

Description

Updated kernel packages that fix one security issue are now available for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.3 Extended Update Support. The Red Hat Security Response Team has rated this update as having important security impact. A Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) base score, which gives a detailed severity rating, is available from the CVE link in the References section.

The kernel packages contain the Linux kernel, the core of any Linux operating system. This update fixes the following security issue: * The compat_alloc_user_space() function in the Linux kernel 32/64-bit compatibility layer implementation was missing sanity checks. This function could be abused in other areas of the Linux kernel if its length argument can be controlled from user-space. On 64-bit systems, a local, unprivileged user could use this flaw to escalate their privileges. (CVE-2010-3081, Important) Red Hat would like to thank Ben Hawkes for reporting this issue. Red Hat is aware that a public exploit for this issue is available. Refer to Knowledgebase article DOC-40265 for further details: https://access.redhat.com/kb/docs/DOC-40265 Users should upgrade to these updated packages, which contain a backported patch to correct this issue. The system must be rebooted for this update to take effect.