kernel security and bug fix update (RHSA-2013-0747)

Original Release Date: May 29, 2013
Last Revised: September 17, 2015
Number: ASA-2013-272
Risk Level: Medium
Advisory Version: 10.0
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 flaw was found in the Xen netback driver implementation in the Linux kernel. A privileged guest user with access to a para-virtualized network device could use this flaw to cause a long loop in netback, leading to a denial of service that could potentially affect the entire system. The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures project (cve.mitre.org) has assigned the name CVE-2013-0216 to this issue.

A flaw was found in the Xen PCI device back-end driver implementation in the Linux kernel. A privileged guest user in a guest that has a PCI passthrough device could use this flaw to cause a denial of service that could potentially affect the entire system. The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures project (cve.mitre.org) has assigned the name CVE-2013-0231 to this issue.

A NULL pointer dereference flaw was found in the IP packet transformation framework (XFRM) implementation in the Linux kernel. A local user who has the CAP_NET_ADMIN capability could use this flaw to cause a denial of service. The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures project (cve.mitre.org) has assigned the name CVE-2013-1826 to this issue.

Information leak flaws were found in the XFRM implementation in the Linux kernel. A local user who has the CAP_NET_ADMIN capability could use these flaws to leak kernel stack memory to user-space. The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures project (cve.mitre.org) has assigned the name CVE-2012-6537 to this issue.

An information leak flaw was found in the logical link control (LLC) implementation in the Linux kernel. A local, unprivileged user could use this flaw to leak kernel stack memory to user-space. The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures project (cve.mitre.org) has assigned the name CVE-2012-6542 to this issue.

Two information leak flaws were found in the Linux kernel's Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) subsystem. A local, unprivileged user could use these flaws to leak kernel stack memory to user-space. The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures project (cve.mitre.org) has assigned the name CVE-2012-6546 to this issue.

An information leak flaw was found in the TUN/TAP device driver in the Linux kernel's networking implementation. A local user with access to a TUN/TAP virtual interface could use this flaw to leak kernel stack memory to user-space. The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures project (cve.mitre.org) has assigned the name CVE-2012-6547 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 packages installed:

Product: Affected Version(s): Risk Level: Actions:
Avaya Aura® Application Enablement Services 5.x, 6.1 thru 6.3.2 Low Upgrade to 6.3.3 or later.
Avaya Aura® Application Server 5300:
  • SIP Core
2.0, 3.x without Patch Bundle 6 Medium For 2.0 upgrade to 3.0 and install SP6 or later.
For 3.0 install SP 6 or later.
Avaya IQ 5.0 thru 5.2.5 Medium Upgrade to 5.2.6 and install Patch 2 or later.
Avaya Aura® Communication Manager 5.x, 6.0.x thru 6.3 Low For 6.2.x and earlier upgrade to 6.3 and install Kernel Service pack1 or later.
For 6.3 install Kernel Service Pack 1 or later.
Avaya Communication Server 1000:
  • CS1000E
  • CS1000M
  • CS1000E/CS1000M Signaling Server
6.x, 7.x Low See mitigating factors below. There are no current plans to resolve this issue.
Avaya Aura® Conferencing 7.0.x, 7.2 without SP1 Low For 7.0.x upgrade to 7.2 and install SP1 or later.
For 7.2 install SP1 or later.
Avaya Aura® Conferencing Standard Edition 6.0 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 8.x Medium Upgrade to 9.0 SP3 or later.
Avaya Meeting Exchange 6.2 including SP1 Low Upgrade to 6.2 SP2 or later.
Avaya Aura® Messaging 6.0 thru 6.2.x Low Upgrade to 6.3 or later.
Avaya one-X® Client Enablement Services 6.1.x Medium Upgrade to 6.2 and install Service Pack 2 or later.
Avaya Aura® Presence Services 6.x Medium Upgrade to Aura Presence Services 7.0 or later. Further information about this version, as well as the overall Aura 7.0 release, is available on support.avaya.com.
Avaya Proactive Contact 5.0, 5.1 Low Upgrade to 5.1.1 or later.
Avaya Aura® Session Manager 1.x, 5.x, 6.0 thru 6.2.x Low Upgrade to 6.3.4 or later.
Avaya Aura® SIP Enablement Services 5.2.x Low See mitigating factors below. There are no current plans to resolve this issue.
Avaya Aura® System Manager 5.x, 6.1 thru 6.3.3 Medium Upgrade to 6.3.4 or later.
Avaya Aura® System Platform 1.x, 6.0.x thru 6.3 Medium Upgrade to 6.3.1 or later.
Avaya Aura® Communication Manager Utility Services 6.0 thru 6.3 Medium Upgrade to 6.3.1 or later.
Avaya Voice Portal 5.x Low See recommended actions and Mitigating Factors table below. This advisory will not be addressed as there will be no further releases. It is recommended to upgrade to Avaya Aura® Experience Portal.

Recommended Actions for System Products:
Avaya strongly recommends following the 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 the System Product operating system or application should not be modified 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-2013-0216
CVE-2013-0231
These are rated a Medium for IPO AS, CES, PS, SMGR, SP and US due to the potential for Denial of Service.
These are rated a Low for AES, CM, CS1000, Conferencing, CSE, ME, Messaging, PC, SES, VP as would require local privileged access or module not installed by default.
CVE-2012-6537
CVE-2012-6542
CVE-2013-1826
These are rated a Low for all products due to the possible information disclosure or would require local user access and would not provide additional capability.
CVE-2012-6546
CVE-2012-6547
There is no risk for all products as ATM and TUN/TAP are not used by default.

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 installed, the affected package may be installed on the underlying Operating System supporting the AES application.
CVLAN Depending on the Operating System installed, the affected package may be installed on the underlying Operating System supporting the CVLAN application.
Avaya Aura® Experience Portal Depending on the Operating System installed, 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 installed, the affected package may be installed on the underlying Operating System supporting the IMS application.
Avaya Aura® Presence Services Depending on the Operating System installed, 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 installed, 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 installed, the affected package may be installed on the underlying Operating System supporting the SMGR application.
Avaya Voice Portal Depending on the Operating System installed, 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 following the 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 - May 29, 2013 - Initial Statement issued.
V 2.0 - October 8, 2013 - Updated AS5300, Conferencing SE, SM, SMGR and US affected versions and actions.
V 3.0 - October 15, 2013 - Updated SP affected versions and actions.
V 4.0 - January 16, 2014 - Updated CM and Conferencing affected versions and actions, and VP actions.
V 5.0 - March 24, 2014 - Updated Messaging and CES affected versions and actions.
V 6.0 - June 4, 2014 - Updated AES affected versions and actions.
V 7.0 - June 12, 2014 - Updated PC affected versions and actions.
V 8.0 - February 6, 2015 - Updated IPOAS actions.
V 9.0 - March 11, 2015 - Updated MX affected versions and actions.
V 10.0 - September 17, 2015 - Updated PS actions, 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.

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