SuSE 7.3 : Kernel 2.4.10-4GB Bug

[Juergen Pabel <spamtrap@invalid.domain>]

Summary:
  Any local user can crash a SuSE 7.3 Kernel 2.4.10-4GB (I imagine this is a 
buffer overflow or pointer verification problem while in kernel mode)

Details:
  I updated my SuSE 7.2 installation to 7.3 and now I can reproducably crash 
the system as any local user (ie: non-root). Out of curiousity i started the 
file /usr/src/linux/vmlinux (basically: the file "vmlinux" in the base kernel 
source directory) which is the "pure" (for lack of a better word) kernel 
after a successful kernel compilation. Since this file is essentially an ELF 
executable it's possible to start it (whether or not it actually "runs" is a
different story). On a correctly running kernel it should (and does) exit 
with SIGSEGV, while on a 2.4.10-4GB kernel it crashes the whole system (hard 
reset, instantly...kaputt).
  I have not tested this any further except to verify that this is actually a 
problem with the kernel and not some other kernel module i use (vmware, 
pcmcia, ...) or even hardware (tested with same result on a different machine)

I have also not notified the vendor yet because I haven't verified if the 
cause is a SuSE patch or if the problem resides within the original kernel 
code (I haven't even started looking for the source of the problem).

If you want to contact me do so via email "jpabel at akkaya dot de"

Juergen Pabel
Akkaya Consulting GmbH
www.akkaya.de