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Mandriva Advisories

Package name kernel
Date March 27th, 2003
Advisory ID MDKSA-2003:038
Affected versions 9.0, CS2.1
Synopsis Updated 2,4 kernel packages fix ptrace vulnerability

Problem Description

A bug in the kernel module loader code could allow a local user to gain
root privileges. This is done by a local user using ptrace and
attaching to a modprobe process that is spawned if the user triggers
the loading of a kernel module.

A temporary workaround can be used to defend against this flaw. It is
possible to temporarily disable the kmod kernel module loading
subsystem in the kernel after all of the required kernel modules have
been loaded. Be sure that you do not need to load additional kernel
modules after implementing this workaround. To use it, as root execute:

echo /no/such/file >/proc/sys/kernel/modprobe

To automate this, you may wish to add it as the last line of the
/etc/rc.d/rc.local file. You can revert this change by replacing the
content "/sbin/modprobe" in the /proc/sys/kernel/modprobe file. The
root user can still manually load kernel modules with this workaround
in place.

This update applies a patch to correct the problem. All users should
upgrade. Please note that the Mandrake Linux 9.1 kernel already has
this patch, and an updated kernel for Mandrake Linux 8.2 will be
available shortly.

For instructions on how to upgrade your kernel in Mandrake Linux,
please refer to:

http://www.mandrakesecure.net/en/kernelupdate.php

Updated Packages

Mandrakelinux 9.0

 f3c1c5e6b9a677019cfe7094ff804c10  9.0/RPMS/kernel-2.4.19.32mdk-1-1mdk.i586.rpm
3dcd13d22100c30d88ddfc4294baa9e4  9.0/RPMS/kernel-BOOT-2.4.19.32mdk-1-1mdk.i586.rpm
2949fd7c641662835d2f3eb54b1fd884  9.0/RPMS/kernel-enterprise-2.4.19.32mdk-1-1mdk.i586.rpm
333689546094a5fc804ee7f5d1c4aecf  9.0/RPMS/kernel-secure-2.4.19.32mdk-1-1mdk.i586.rpm
d4ad9d24d072d188afbc353cda4206b7  9.0/RPMS/kernel-smp-2.4.19.32mdk-1-1mdk.i586.rpm
4b611461a5aac876e41516948dadb710  9.0/RPMS/kernel-source-2.4.19-32mdk.i586.rpm
58f41baa7913134f719de3ae7d834ee8  9.0/SRPMS/kernel-2.4.19.32mdk-1-1mdk.src.rpm

Corporate Server 2.1

 f3c1c5e6b9a677019cfe7094ff804c10  corporate/2.1/RPMS/kernel-2.4.19.32mdk-1-1mdk.i586.rpm
3dcd13d22100c30d88ddfc4294baa9e4  corporate/2.1/RPMS/kernel-BOOT-2.4.19.32mdk-1-1mdk.i586.rpm
2949fd7c641662835d2f3eb54b1fd884  corporate/2.1/RPMS/kernel-enterprise-2.4.19.32mdk-1-1mdk.i586.rpm
333689546094a5fc804ee7f5d1c4aecf  corporate/2.1/RPMS/kernel-secure-2.4.19.32mdk-1-1mdk.i586.rpm
d4ad9d24d072d188afbc353cda4206b7  corporate/2.1/RPMS/kernel-smp-2.4.19.32mdk-1-1mdk.i586.rpm
4b611461a5aac876e41516948dadb710  corporate/2.1/RPMS/kernel-source-2.4.19-32mdk.i586.rpm
58f41baa7913134f719de3ae7d834ee8  corporate/2.1/SRPMS/kernel-2.4.19.32mdk-1-1mdk.src.rpm

References

http://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CAN-2003-0127

Upgrade

To upgrade your kernel, view the kernel update instructions. Kernels cannot be upgraded via MandrivaUpdate.


Verification

Please verify the update prior to upgrading to ensure the integrity of the downloaded package. You can do this with the command :

                rpm --checksig package.rpm

You can get the GPG public key of the Mandriva Security Team to verify the GPG signature of each RPM.