I think this might be a different failure mode of the same problem I fixed in 2.6 in http://lkml.org/lkml/2004/8/18/144
A fix for this problem has just been committed to the RHEL3 U7 patch pool this evening (in kernel version 2.4.21-37.3.EL).
An advisory has been issued which should help the problem described in this bug report. This report is therefore being closed with a resolution of ERRATA. For more information on the solution and/or where to find the updated files, please follow the link below. You may reopen this bug report if the solution does not work for you. http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2006-0144.html