kernel security, bug fix, and enhancement update (RHSA-2012-0007)

Original Release Date: March 22, 2012
Last Revised: June 26, 2015
Number: ASA-2012-118
Risk Level: Low
Advisory Version: 11.0
Advisory Status: Final

1. Overview:

The kernel packages contain the Linux kernel, the core of any Linux operating system.

This update fixes the following security issues:

A buffer overflow flaw was found in the way the Linux kernel's XFS file system implementation handled links with overly long path names. A local, unprivileged user could use this flaw to cause a denial of service or escalate their privileges by mounting a specially-crafted disk. The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures project (cve.mitre.org) has assigned the name CVE-2011-4077 to this issue.

The fix for CVE-2011-2482 provided by RHSA-2011:1212 introduced a regression: on systems that do not have Security-Enhanced Linux (SELinux) in Enforcing mode, a socket lock race could occur between sctp_rcv() and sctp_accept(). A remote attacker could use this flaw to cause a denial of service. By default, SELinux runs in Enforcing mode on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5. The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures project (cve.mitre.org) has assigned the name CVE-2011-4348 to this issue.

The proc file system could allow a local, unprivileged user to obtain sensitive information or possibly cause integrity issues. The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures project (cve.mitre.org) has assigned the name CVE-2011-1020 to this issue.

A missing validation flaw was found in the Linux kernel's m_stop() implementation. A local, unprivileged user could use this flaw to trigger a denial of service. The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures project (cve.mitre.org) has assigned the name CVE-2011-3637 to this issue.

A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's Journaling Block Device (JBD). A local attacker could use this flaw to crash the system by mounting a specially-crafted ext3 or ext4 disk. The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures project (cve.mitre.org) has assigned the name CVE-2011-4132 to this issue.

A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's encode_share_access() implementation. A local, unprivileged user could use this flaw to trigger a denial of service by creating a regular file on an NFSv4 (Network File System version 4) file system via mknod(). The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures project (cve.mitre.org) has assigned the name CVE-2011-4324 to this issue.

A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's NFS implementation. A local, unprivileged user could use this flaw to cause a denial of service. The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures project (cve.mitre.org) has assigned the name CVE-2011-4325 to this issue.

A missing boundary check was found in the Linux kernel's HFS file system implementation. A local attacker could use this flaw to cause a denial of service or escalate their privileges by mounting a specially-crafted disk. The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures project (cve.mitre.org) has assigned the name CVE-2011-4330 to this issue.

More information about these vulnerabilities can be found in the security advisory issued by Red Hat:

2. Avaya System Products using a modified version of RHEL5 with affected components/packages installed:

Product: Affected Version(s): Risk Level: Actions:
Avaya Aura® Application Enablement Services 5.2.x, 6.1.x Low Upgrade to Application Enablement Services 6.2 or later.
Avaya Aura® Application Server 5300:
  • SIP Core
2.0 without Patch Bundle 26 or later Low Upgrade to Application Server 5300 with PB 26 or later.
Avaya Aura® Communication Manager 5.2.x, 6.0.x, 6.2.x Low Upgrade to Communication Manager 6.3 or later.
Avaya Communication Server 1000:
  • CS1000E
  • CS1000M
  • CS1000E/CS1000M Signaling Server
7.x Low See recommended actions and mitigating factors table below. This advisory will not be addressed as no further releases are planned.
Avaya Aura® Conferencing Standard Edition 6.0.x Low See recommended actions and mitigating factors table below. This advisory will not be addressed as no further releases are planned. It is recommended that customers migrate to one of Avaya's conferencing solutions including Avaya Aura® Conferencing 7.0 or later.
Avaya IP Office Application Server 6.x, 7.x, 8.x Low Upgrade to 9.0 or later.
Avaya IQ 5.2 thru 5.2.5 Low Upgrade to 5.2.6 and install Patch 2 or later.
Avaya Aura® Messaging 6.2 and earlier Low Upgrade to Messaging 6.3 or later.
Avaya Aura® Presence Services 6.0, 6.1.x Low Upgrade to Presence Services 6.2 or later.
Avaya Proactive Contact 5.0.x Low Upgrade to Proactive Contact 5.1 or later.
Avaya Aura® Session Manager 1.1, 5.2, 6.0.x, 6.1.x, 6.2 Low Upgrade to Session Manager 6.2 SP1 or later
Avaya Aura® System Manager 5.2, 6.x thru 6.2 SP2 Low Upgrade to System Manager 6.2 SP3 or later.
Avaya Aura® System Platform 1.x, 6.0.x Low Upgrade to System Platform 6.0.3.9.3 or later.
Avaya Aura® Communication Manager Utility Services 6.0.x, 6.1.x, 6.2 Low For 6.0 and 6.1, upgrade to Utility Services 6.2 and install Service Pack 6.2.5.0.15 or later.
For 6.2, install Service Pack 6.2.5.0.15 or later.
Avaya Voice Portal 5.0.x, 5.1 thru 5.1 SP2 Low Upgrade to Avaya Enterprise Linux for Voice Portal 5.1 SP3 and Voice Portal 5.1 SP3 or later.

Recommended Actions for System Products:
Avaya strongly recommends that customers follow networking and security best practices by implementing firewalls, ACLs, physical security or other appropriate access restrictions. Though Avaya believes such restrictions should always be in place, risk to Avaya products and the surrounding network from this potential vulnerability may be mitigated by ensuring these practices are implemented until such time as an Avaya provided product update or the recommended Avaya action is applied. Further restrictions as deemed necessary based on the customer's security policies may be required during this interim period, but customers should not modify the System Product operating system or application unless the change is approved by Avaya. Making changes that are not approved may void the Avaya product service contract.

Mitigating Factors:

When determining risk, Avaya takes into account many factors as outlined by Avaya's Security Vulnerability Classification Policy. The following table describes factors that mitigate the risk of specific vulnerabilities for affected Avaya products:

Vulnerability Mitigating Factors
CVE-2011-1020
CVE-2011-3637
CVE-2011-4132
These are a low risk for all products as they would require privileged account access.
CVE-2011-4077
CVE-2011-4324
CVE-2011-4325
CVE-2011-4330
These are a low risk for all products as the XFS, NFSv4, NFS and HFS file systems are not used.
CVE-2011-4348 This is a low risk for all products as sctp is not used.

3. Avaya Software-Only Products:

Avaya software-only products operate on general-purpose operating systems. Occasionally vulnerabilities may be discovered in the underlying operating system or applications that come with the operating system. These vulnerabilities often do not impact the software-only product directly but may threaten the integrity of the underlying platform.

In the case of this advisory Avaya software-only products are not affected by the vulnerability directly but the underlying Linux platform may be. Customers should determine on which Linux operating system the product was installed and then follow that vendor's guidance.

Product: Actions:
Avaya Aura® Application Enablement Services 4.x/5.x Depending on the Operating System provided by customers, the affected package may be installed on the underlying Operating System supporting the AES application.
CVLAN Depending on the Operating System provided by customers, the affected package may be installed on the underlying Operating System supporting the CVLAN application.
Avaya Aura® Experience Portal Depending on the Operating System provided by customers, the affected package may be installed on the underlying Operating System supporting the EP application.
Avaya Integrated Management Suite (IMS) Depending on the Operating System provided by customers, the affected package may be installed on the underlying Operating System supporting the IMS application.
Avaya Aura® Presence Services Depending on the Operating System provided by customers, the affected package may be installed on the underlying Operating System supporting the PS application.
Avaya Secure Access Link Gateway Depending on the Operating System provided by customers, the affected package may be installed on the underlying Operating System supporting the SAL Gateway application.
Avaya Aura® System Manager 1.0 Depending on the Operating System provided by customers, the affected package may be installed on the underlying Operating System supporting the SMGR application.
Avaya Voice Portal Depending on the Operating System provided by customers, the affected package may be installed on the underlying Operating System supporting the VP application.

Recommended Actions for Software-Only Products:
In the event that the affected package is installed, Avaya recommends that customers follow recommended actions supplied by Red Hat regarding their Enterprise Linux.

4. Additional Information:

Additional information may also be available via the Avaya support website and through your Avaya account representative. Please contact your Avaya product support representative, or dial 1-800-242-2121, with any questions.

5. Disclaimer:

ALL INFORMATION IS BELIEVED TO BE CORRECT AT THE TIME OF PUBLICATION AND IS PROVIDED "AS IS". AVAYA INC., ON BEHALF ITSELF AND ITS SUBSIDIARIES AND AFFILIATES (HEREINAFTER COLLECTIVELY REFERRED TO AS "AVAYA"), DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND FURTHERMORE, AVAYA MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES THAT THE STEPS RECOMMENDED WILL ELIMINATE SECURITY OR VIRUS THREATS TO CUSTOMERS' SYSTEMS. IN NO EVENT SHALL AVAYA BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE INFORMATION OR RECOMMENDED ACTIONS PROVIDED HEREIN, INCLUDING DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, STATUTORY, CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, LOSS OF BUSINESS PROFITS OR SPECIAL DAMAGES, EVEN IF AVAYA HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

THE INFORMATION PROVIDED HERE DOES NOT AFFECT THE SUPPORT AGREEMENTS IN PLACE FOR AVAYA PRODUCTS. SUPPORT FOR AVAYA PRODUCTS CONTINUES TO BE EXECUTED AS PER EXISTING AGREEMENTS WITH AVAYA.

6. Revision History:

V 1.0 - March 22, 2012 - Initial Statement issued.
V 2.0 - August 3, 2012 - Updated AES, AS5300 and SM affected version and actions
V 3.0 - September 11, 2012 - Updated SMGR, SP and VP affected versions and actions.
V 4.0 - March 1, 2013 - Updated PC affected versions and actions.
V 5.0 - March 6, 2013 - Updated CMUS affected versions and actions.
V 6.0 - April 17, 2013 - Updated CS1000 affected versions and actions.
V 7.0 - May 23, 2013 - Updated CM affected versions and actions and PS actions.
V 8.0 - July 26, 2013 - Updated Conferencing SE actions.
V 9.0 - October 9, 2013 - Updated IPOAS actions.
V 10.0 - February 04, 2015 - Updated Messaging affected versions and actions.
V 11.0 - June 26, 2015 - Updated IQ affected versions and actions, and set advisory status to final.

Send information regarding any discovered security problems with Avaya products to either the contact noted in the product's documentation or securityalerts@avaya.com.

Linux® is the registered trademark of Linus Torvalds in the U.S. and other countries.

© 2012 Avaya Inc. All Rights Reserved. All trademarks identifying Avaya products by the ® or ™ are registered trademarks or trademarks, respectively, of Avaya Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.