- Issued:
- 2011-01-13
- Updated:
- 2011-01-13
RHBA-2011:0140 - Bug Fix Advisory
Synopsis
kernel bug fix update
Type/Severity
Bug Fix Advisory
Topic
Updated kernel packages that fix various bugs are now available for Red Hat
Enterprise Linux 5.3 Long Life.
Description
The kernel packages contain the Linux kernel, the core of the Linux operating
system.
This update fixes the following bugs:
- Due to an error in the scsi_transport_fc module, an SCSI scan could get stuck
in an infinite loop. With this update, an upstream patch has been applied to
resolve this issue, and SCSI scans are now finished as expected. (BZ#651455)
- When the system was under workload, the accounting of partition input/output
statistics could negatively affect the performance. This updates introduces the
possibility to turn the I/O accounting off by changing the value in
/sys/block/[device_name]/queue/iostats. (BZ#651809)
- Under very rare occasions, a system may have stopped responding during boot
and had to be restarted. This was caused by a spinlock in the stop_machine()
function call. With this update, a series of patches has been applied to address
this issue, and the system no longer stops responding at boot time. (BZ#651814)
- An additional patch has been applied to add a guard page for stacks that grow
upwards. (BZ#659288)
All users are advised to upgrade to these updated packages, which contain
backported patches to correct these issues. The system must be rebooted for this
update to take effect.
Solution
Before applying this update, make sure that all previously-released errata
relevant to your system have been applied.
This update is available via Red Hat Network. Details on how to use the Red
Hat Network to apply this update are available at
https://access.redhat.com/kb/docs/DOC-11259
To install kernel packages manually, use "rpm -ivh [package]". Do not use "rpm
- Uvh" as that will remove the running kernel binaries from your system. You may
use "rpm -e" to remove old kernels after determining that the new kernel
functions properly on your system.
Affected Products
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server - AUS 5.3 x86_64
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server - AUS 5.3 ia64
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server - AUS 5.3 i386
Fixes
- BZ - 651455 - scsi_transport_fc: fc_user_scan can loop forever, needs mutex with rport list changes [rhel-5.3.z]
- BZ - 651809 - FEAT: feature request. disable iostat collection in gendisk [rhel-5.3.z]
- BZ - 651814 - [5.5] Hangs up during booting due to a spinlock problem. [rhel-5.3.z]
- BZ - 659288 - kernel: additional stack guard patches [rhel-5.3.z]
CVEs
(none)
References
(none)
The Red Hat security contact is secalert@redhat.com. More contact details at https://access.redhat.com/security/team/contact/.