To exclude packages permanently edit the yum.conf file:

vim /etc/yum.conf

Add “exclude=package*” E.g:

[main]
cachedir=/var/cache/yum/$basearch/$releasever
keepcache=0
debuglevel=2
logfile=/var/log/yum.log
exclude=php* kernel*  

Temporary Solution:

yum update --exclude=PACKAGENAME*