USN-3880-1: Linux kernel vulnerabilities

4 February 2019

Several security issues were fixed in the Linux kernel.

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Releases

Packages

Details

It was discovered that the CIFS client implementation in the Linux kernel
did not properly handle setup negotiation during session recovery, leading
to a NULL pointer exception. An attacker could use this to create a
malicious CIFS server that caused a denial of service (client system
crash). (CVE-2018-1066)

Jann Horn discovered that the procfs file system implementation in the
Linux kernel did not properly restrict the ability to inspect the kernel
stack of an arbitrary task. A local attacker could use this to expose
sensitive information. (CVE-2018-17972)

Jann Horn discovered that the mremap() system call in the Linux kernel did
not properly flush the TLB when completing, potentially leaving access to a
physical page after it has been released to the page allocator. A local
attacker could use this to cause a denial of service (system crash), expose
sensitive information, or possibly execute arbitrary code. (CVE-2018-18281)

It was discovered that the socket implementation in the Linux kernel
contained a type confusion error that could lead to memory corruption. A
local attacker could use this to cause a denial of service (system crash)
or possibly execute arbitrary code. (CVE-2018-9568)

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Update instructions

The problem can be corrected by updating your system to the following package versions:

Ubuntu 14.04

After a standard system update you need to reboot your computer to make
all the necessary changes.

ATTENTION: Due to an unavoidable ABI change the kernel updates have
been given a new version number, which requires you to recompile and
reinstall all third party kernel modules you might have installed.
Unless you manually uninstalled the standard kernel metapackages
(e.g. linux-generic, linux-generic-lts-RELEASE, linux-virtual,
linux-powerpc), a standard system upgrade will automatically perform
this as well.

References

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