Debian GNU/Linux 4.0 updated and support for newer hardware added

July 26th, 2008

The Debian project is pleased to announce the fourth update of its stable distribution Debian GNU/Linux 4.0 (codename etch). In addition to correcting several security problems and a few serious defects in the stable release, for the first time in Debian's history an update for a stable distribution also adds support for newer hardware by giving users the option to install newer drivers.

Existing Debian GNU/Linux 4.0 installation CDs and DVDs can continue to be used to install this update. After installation, upgrading via an up-to-date Debian mirror will cause any out of date packages to be updated. However, users of the network-console installation method are strongly encouraged to update their media, see the "Debian Installer" portion of this announcement for more information.

Those who install updates frequently from security.debian.org won't have to update many packages and most updates from security.debian.org are included in this update.

New CD and DVD images containing updated packages and the regular installation media accompanied with the package archive respectively will be available soon at the regular locations.

Upgrading to this revision online should be done by directing the aptitude (or apt) package tool (see the sources.list(5) manual page) at one of Debian's many FTP or HTTP mirrors. A comprehensive list of mirrors is available at:

https://www.debian.org/mirror/list

About etch-and-a-half

Etch and a half is Debian's desire to support hardware that requires updated drivers. This marks the first time the Debian project updates several core packages in its stable distribution without security implications and demonstrates its huge dedication for their users.

Components newer than the first release of Debian GNU/Linux 4.0 (etch) that were not supported yet will be detected by an updated installation routine which is able to install a newer Linux kernel (2.6.24) on the freshly installed system. This revision includes packages that are based upon the Linux 2.6.24 kernel as well. Installation of these additional packages is not required and will not occur by default. The existing 2.6.18-based kernel will continue to be the default kernel for the etch release.

A more recent version of X.org, the X window system, also contains new drivers that add support to e.g. Geforce 8 series GPUs, intel 965GM, 965GME, G33, Q35, Q33 cards. Dual-head setups are also supported rudimentary.

These packages have been updated or newly introduced through etch-and-a-half:

Package Reason
linux-2.6.24 Updated for new kernel for etchnhalf
linux-kbuild-2.6.24 Updated for new kernel for etchnhalf
linux-latest-2.6-etchnhalf New kernel for etchnhalf
xserver-xorg-video-nv Supporting more hardware
xserver-xorg-video-intel Supporting more hardware
aboot Fix alpha build, add support for kernels newer than 2.6.23
b43-fwcutter Fix wrongly encoded es.po
debconf Make debconf-apt-progress compatible with the Lenny installer
sysvinit Update shutdown to work with libata in linux newer than 2.6.23
wireless-tools Update to claim support for WE API in etchnhalf kernel

Release notes covering the special features of etch-and-a-half have been written as well as a short update for the installation instructions.

Debian-Installer Update

The Debian-Installer was updated to repair an issue with the network-console installation option. Due to a lack of entropy in how the host key is generated, earlier Debian GNU/Linux 4.0 installers are vulnerable to a man-in-the-middle attack. Two other issues regarding installation on already existing RAID setups and recognizing PowerPC64 system have been fixed as well.

Miscellaneous Bugfixes

This stable update adds several binary updates for various architectures to packages whose version was not synchronised across all architectures. It also adds a few important corrections to the following packages:

Package Reason
apache2 Fix possible segfault introduced by patch for CVE-2007-6421
balsa Fix for stack-based buffer overflow
base-installer Correctly recognize powerpc64 systems
cbrpager Backported security fixes from upstream 0.9.18 for CVE-2008-2575
chkrootkit 'Enye' check was killing random applications
debian-installer Rebuilt images containing network-console
dns-flood-detector Actually write a pid file for start-stop-daemon
exiv2 Fix regression in security update
fai-kernels Rebuilt against linux-2.6_2.6.18.dfsg.1-21
firmware-nonfree Build-depend on new kernel ABI 2.6-6
glibc Fix nscd host caching and linker script for libraries using TLS
grub Fix 1 TiB disk addressing limit
hal Allow mounting ntfs volumes from within KDE
initramfs-tools Fix MBR checking on md devices and booting with Xen
kiosktool Correct the path to the KDE menu file
licq Fixing 'ICQ version too old' connection failure
linux-2.6 Fix several issues
partman-lvm Fix installation with already existing RAID
pdftohtml Transition users to poppler-utils
python-django Fix cross-site scripting vulnerability
qsynth Fix wrongly named desktop file
qt-x11-free Ease updates of KDE by hardcoding the unames
trac Fix multiple issues
tzdata New timezone information
user-mode-linux Rebuilt against linux-2.6_2.6.18.dfsg.1-21
vzctl Fix file permission transfer on migrations
wxmaxima Fix connection problems making the package unusable
xpdf Remove strict versioned dependency on xpdf-utils to fix upgrade
xpenguins-applet Avoid double free
znc Fix NULL pointer dereferences leading to crashes

These packages were updated on the specified architecture to bring the architectures back in sync:

Package Architecture — Reason
apache2-mpm-itk s390 amd64 sparc powerpc arm i386 mips ia64 alpha mipsel hppa — Rebuilt against updated apache2
gtimer amd64 — Rebuilt against Etch libraries
kdebase arm
kdelibs arm
sage ia64 — Rebuilt against libsdl1.2_1.2.11-8 to kill off dangling .la references
sear ia64 — Rebuilt against lib3ds-dev 1.2.0-4.1+etch1

Security Updates

This revision adds the following security updates to the stable release. The Security Team has already released an advisory for each of these updates:

Advisory ID Package Correction(s)
DSA-1484 xulrunnerFix several vulnerabilities
DSA-1485 icedoveFix several vulnerabilities
DSA-1492 wmlClean up temporary files
DSA-1497 clamavFix several vulnerabilities
DSA-1498 libimager-perlFix arbitrary code execution
DSA-1499 pcre3Fix arbitrary code execution
DSA-1500 splitvtFix privilege escalation
DSA-1501 dspamFix information disclosure
DSA-1502 wordpressFix multiple vulnerabilities
DSA-1505 alsa-driverFix kernel memory leak
DSA-1506 iceapeFix several vulnerabilities
DSA-1507 turba2Fix permission testing
DSA-1508 swordFix insufficient input sanitising
DSA-1509 kofficeFix multiple vulnerabilities
DSA-1510 gs-gplFix arbitrary code execution
DSA-1511 icuFix multiple problems
DSA-1512 evolutionFix arbitrary code execution
DSA-1513 lighttpdFix CGI source disclosure
DSA-1514 moinFix several vulnerabilities
DSA-1515 libnet-dns-perlFix several vulnerabilities
DSA-1516 dovecotFix privilege escalation
DSA-1517 ldapscriptsFix information disclosure
DSA-1518 backup-managerFix password disclosure
DSA-1519 horde3Fix insufficient input sanitising
DSA-1520 smartyFix insufficient input sanitising
DSA-1522 unzipFix programming error
DSA-1523 ikiwikiFix cross-site scripting
DSA-1524 krb5Fix multiple vulnerabilities
DSA-1525 asteriskFix several vulnerabilities
DSA-1526 xwineFix several vulnerabilities
DSA-1527 debian-goodiesFix insufficient input sanitising
DSA-1528 serendipityFix cross site scripting
DSA-1530 cupsysFix multiple vulnerabilities
DSA-1531 policyd-weightFix insecure temporary files
DSA-1532 xulrunnerFix several vulnerabilities
DSA-1533 exiftagsFix several vulnerabilities
DSA-1534 iceapeFix several vulnerabilities
DSA-1535 iceweaselFix several vulnerabilities
DSA-1536 xine-libFix several vulnerabilities
DSA-1537 xpdfFix multiple vulnerabilities
DSA-1538 alsaplayerFix arbitrary code execution
DSA-1539 mapserverFix multiple vulnerabilities
DSA-1540 lighttpdFix denial of service
DSA-1541 openldap2.3Fix denial of service
DSA-1542 libcairoFix arbitrary code execution
DSA-1543 vlcFix several vulnerabilities
DSA-1544 pdns-recursorFix cache poisioning vulnerability
DSA-1545 rsyncFix arbitrary code execution
DSA-1546 gnumericFix arbitrary code execution
DSA-1547 openoffice.orgFix arbitrary code execution
DSA-1548 xpdfFix arbitrary code execution
DSA-1549 clamavFix several vulnerabilities
DSA-1550 suphpFix local privilege escalation
DSA-1551 python2.4Fix several vulnerabilities
DSA-1552 mplayerFix arbitrary code execution
DSA-1553 ikiwikiFix cross-site request forgery
DSA-1554 roundupFix cross-site scripting vulnerability
DSA-1555 iceweaselFix arbitrary code execution
DSA-1556 perlFix denial of service
DSA-1557 phpmyadminFix several vulnerabilities
DSA-1558 xulrunnerFix arbitrary code execution
DSA-1559 phpgedviewFix cross site scripting
DSA-1560 kronolith2Fix cross site scripting
DSA-1561 ltspFix information disclosure
DSA-1562 iceapeFix arbitrary code execution
DSA-1563 asteriskFix denial of service
DSA-1564 wordpressFix several vulnerabilities
DSA-1566 cpioFix denial of service
DSA-1567 blenderFix arbitrary code execution
DSA-1568 b2evolutionFix cross site scripting
DSA-1569 cactiFix multiple vulnerabilities
DSA-1570 kazehakaseFix arbitrary code execution
DSA-1571 opensslFix predictable random number generator
DSA-1572 php5Fix several vulnerabilities
DSA-1573 rdesktopFix several vulnerabilities
DSA-1574 icedoveFix several vulnerabilities
DSA-1576 opensshFix predictable randomness
DSA-1577 gforgeFix insecure temporary files
DSA-1578 php4Fix several vulnerabilities
DSA-1579 netpbm-freeFix arbitrary code execution
DSA-1580 phpgedviewFix privilege escalation
DSA-1581 gnutls13Fix potential code execution
DSA-1582 peercastFix arbitrary code execution
DSA-1583 gnome-peercastFix several vulnerabilities
DSA-1584 libfishsoundFix arbitrary code execution
DSA-1585 speexFix arbitrary code execution
DSA-1586 xine-libFix several vulnerabilities
DSA-1587 mtrFix arbitrary code execution
DSA-1589 libxsltFix arbitrary code execution
DSA-1590 sambaFix arbitrary code execution
DSA-1591 libvorbisFix several vulnerabilities
DSA-1593 tomcat5.5Fix missing input sanitising and cross site scripting issue
DSA-1594 imlib2Fix buffer overflows in XPM and PNM loaders
DSA-1595 xorg-serverFix several vulnerabilities
DSA-1596 typo3-srcFix several vulnerabilities
DSA-1597 mt-daapdFix several vulnerabilities
DSA-1598 libtk-imgFix buffer overflow
DSA-1599 dbusFix programming error
DSA-1600 sympaFix denial of service
DSA-1601 wordpressFix several vulnerabilities
DSA-1602 pcre3Fix arbitrary code execution
DSA-1603 bind9Fix cache poisioning
DSA-1606 popplerFix arbitrary code execution
DSA-1608 mysql-dfsg-5.0Fix authorization bypass
DSA-1611 afuseFix privilege escalation
DSA-1612 ruby1.8Fix several vulnerabilities
DSA-1613 libgd2Fix multiple vulnerabilities

A complete list of all accepted and rejected packages together with rationale is available on the preparation page for this revision:

https://release.debian.org/stable/4.0/4.0r4/

Removed packages

The following packages were removed due to circumstances beyond our control:

Package Reason
glimpse Licensing issues
dcc Incompatible with DCC network, security issues
maxdb-7.5.00 Security issues

URLs

The complete lists of packages that have changed with this release:

http://ftp.debian.org/debian/dists/etch/ChangeLog

The current stable distribution:

http://ftp.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/

Proposed updates to the stable distribution:

http://ftp.debian.org/debian/dists/proposed-updates/

Stable distribution information (release notes, errata, etc.):

https://www.debian.org/releases/stable/

Security announcements and information:

http://security.debian.org/

About Debian

The Debian Project is an association of Free Software developers who volunteer their time and effort in order to produce the completely free operating system Debian GNU/Linux.

Contact Information

For further information, please visit the Debian web pages at https://www.debian.org/, send mail to <press@debian.org>, or contact the stable release team at <debian-release@lists.debian.org>.