The kernel packages contain the Linux kernel, the core of any Linux operating system. This update addresses the following security issues: * Tavis Ormandy discovered a deficiency in the Linux kernel 32-bit and 64-bit emulation. This could allow a local, unprivileged user to prepare and run a specially-crafted binary which would use this deficiency to leak uninitialized and potentially sensitive data. * a possible kernel memory leak was found in the Linux kernel Simple Internet Transition INET6 implementation. This could allow a local, unprivileged user to cause a denial of service. * missing capability checks were found in the SBNI WAN driver which could allow a local user to bypass intended capability restrictions. * 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. * a buffer overflow flaw was found in Integrated Services Digital Network subsystem. A local, unprivileged user could use this flaw to cause a denial of service. * multiple NULL pointer dereferences were found in various Linux kernel network drivers. These drivers were missing checks for terminal validity, which could allow privilege escalation. * a deficiency was found in the Linux kernel virtual filesystem implementation. This could allow a local, unprivileged user to attempt file creation within deleted directories, possibly causing a denial of service. This update also fixes the following bugs: * the incorrect kunmap function was used in nfs_xdr_readlinkres. kunmap was used where kunmap_atomic should have been. As a consequence, if an NFSv2 or NFSv3 server exported a volume containing a symlink which included a path equal to or longer than the local system"s PATH_MAX, accessing the link caused a kernel oops. This has been corrected in this update. * mptctl_gettargetinfo did not check if pIoc3 was NULL before using it as a pointer. This caused a kernel panic in mptctl_gettargetinfo in some circumstances. A check has been added which prevents this. * lost tick compensation code in the timer interrupt routine triggered without apparent cause. When running as a fully-virtualized client, this spurious triggering caused the 64-bit version of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3 to present highly inaccurate times. With this update the lost tick compensation code is turned off when the operating system is running as a fully-virtualized client under Xen or VMWareR. All Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3 users should install this updated kernel which addresses these vulnerabilities and fixes these bugs.