kernel-2.6.18-53.17AXS3

The kernel package contains the Linux kernel (vmlinuz), the core of any Linux operating system. The kernel handles the basic functions of the operating system: memory allocation, process allocation, device input and output, etc.
Bugs fixed with this release:
In VMware, the guest machine would not stay synchronized with the host machine after having been put in sleep mode.
CVE-2008-3831
The i915 driver in (1) drivers/char/drm/i915_dma.c in the Linux kernel 2.6.24 on Debian GNU/Linux and (2) sys/de /pci/drm/i915_drv.c in OpenBSD does not restrict the DRM_I915_HWS_ADDR ioctl to the Direct Rendering Manager (DRM) master, which allows local users to cause a denial of service (memory corruption) via a crafted ioctl call, related to absence of the DRM_MASTER and DRM_ROOT_ONLY flags in the ioctl's configuration.
CVE-2008-4554
The do_splice_from function in fs/splice.c in the Linux kernel before 2.6.27 does not reject file descriptors that have the O_APPEND flag set, which allows local users to bypass append mode and make arbitrary changes to other locations in the file.
CVE-2008-4576
sctp in Linux kernel before 2.6.25.18 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (OOPS) via an INIT-ACK that states the peer does not support AUTH, which causes the sctp_process_init function to clean up active transports and triggers the OOPS when the T1-Init timer expires.