USN-4253-2: Linux kernel (HWE) vulnerability

28 January 2020

he Linux kernel could be made to expose sensitive information.

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Releases

Packages

  • linux-hwe - Linux hardware enablement (HWE) kernel

Details

USN-4253-1 fixed vulnerabilities in the Linux kernel for Ubuntu 19.10.
This update provides the corresponding updates for the Linux
Hardware Enablement (HWE) kernel from Ubuntu 19.10 for Ubuntu
18.04 LTS.

It was discovered that the Linux kernel did not properly clear data
structures on context switches for certain Intel graphics processors. A
local attacker could use this to expose sensitive information.

Reduce your security exposure

Ubuntu Pro provides ten-year security coverage to 25,000+ packages in Main and Universe repositories, and it is free for up to five machines.

Learn more about Ubuntu Pro

Update instructions

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

Ubuntu 18.04

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