kernel-2.6.32-696.1.1.el6

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.

Security issues fixed with this release:

CVE-2016-7910
Use-after-free vulnerability in the disk_seqf_stop function in
block/genhd.c in the Linux kernel before 4.7.1 allows local users to
gain privileges by leveraging the execution of a certain stop
operation even if the corresponding start operation had failed.
CVE-2017-2636
Race condition in drivers/tty/n_hdlc.c in the Linux kernel through
4.10.1 allows local users to gain privileges or cause a denial of
service (double free) by setting the HDLC line discipline.

Fixed bugs:

* Previously, Chelsio firmware included an incorrectly-formatted firmware bin file. As a consequence, the firmware could not be flashed. This update provides a firmware bin file that is formatted correctly. As a result, Chelsio firmware can now be flashed successfully.
* When multiple simultaneous processes attempted to read from the /proc/stat file, spinlock overhead was generated on Non-Uniform Memory Access (NUMA) systems. Consequently, a large amount of CPU was consumed. With this update, the underlying source code has been fixed to avoid taking spinlock when the interrupt line does not exist. As a result, the spinlock overhead is now generated less often, and multiple simultaneous processes can now read /proc/stat without consuming a large amount of CPU.