(RHSA-2004:044) kernel security update

The Linux kernel handles the basic functions of the operating system.

Alan Cox found issues in the R128 Direct Render Infrastructure that
could allow local privilege escalation. The Common Vulnerabilities and
Exposures project (cve.mitre.org) has assigned the name CAN-2004-0003 to
this issue.

The C-Media PCI sound driver in Linux before 2.4.22 does not use the
get_user function to access userspace in certain conditions, which crosses
security boundaries. The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures project
(cve.mitre.org) has assigned the name CAN-2003-0700 to this issue.

An overflow was found in the ixj telephony card driver in Linux kernels
prior to 2.4.20. The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures project
(cve.mitre.org) has assigned the name CAN-2002-1574 to this issue.

All users are advised to upgrade to these errata packages, which contain
backported security patches that corrects these issues. These packages
also contain a fix to enhance NFS performance, which was degraded in the
last kernel update as part of Update 3.