Linux security patches released

Linux suppliers Red Hat, Novell SuSE and Mandrakesoft have issued security patches against flaws in their Linux operating systems.

Security company Secunia said that Red Hat has this week issued three patches, while Mandrakesoft has issued two patches, and Novell SuSE one, in response to various security threats to their systems.

These include openings for denial-of-service attacks, buffer overflow attacks, and the use of graphics and Adobe Acrobat documents to take over a user’s machine.

Over the past year virus writers and hackers have begun to target increasingly popular Linux systems.

In December a security researcher uncovered a set of security flaws in an image component which could put Linux users at risk of system compromise if they view a maliciously crafted image.

For more information about the latest Linux security threats go to www.secunia.com.

Computer Weekly