[ltp] Linux Kernel security flaw exposed

[j_f_clark]

Hi, All.

I have been out galavanting for a week and had to spend a couple of hours 
catching up on my email today.  It has been a rather strange experience of 
listening to three conversations at once.  The Linux kernel flaw that was 
exploited on the Debian servers last week figured prominently in 2 of those 
conversations but was completely absent from the linux-thinkpad list.  So I 
decided to introduce the issue.

The main article can be found at 
<http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,4149,1400446,00.asp>

This flaw exists in 2.4.22 and earlier kernels.  In practical terms all of 
the current major distributions except (perhaps) Mandrake 9.2 are 
vulnerable.  Apparently Mandrake introduced a fix during its 9.2 
pre-release activities.  See 
http://www.mandrakesecure.net/en/advisories/advisory.php?name=MDKSA-2003:110


I also read that SuSE has posted a patch.

Joe Clark