USN-4367-1: Linux kernel vulnerabilities

24 May 2020

Several security issues were fixed in the Linux kernel.

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Releases

Packages

  • linux - Linux kernel
  • linux-aws - Linux kernel for Amazon Web Services (AWS) systems
  • linux-azure - Linux kernel for Microsoft Azure Cloud systems
  • linux-gcp - Linux kernel for Google Cloud Platform (GCP) systems
  • linux-kvm - Linux kernel for cloud environments
  • linux-oracle - Linux kernel for Oracle Cloud systems
  • linux-raspi - Linux kernel for Raspberry Pi (V8) systems
  • linux-riscv - Linux kernel for RISC-V systems

Details

It was discovered that the btrfs implementation in the Linux kernel did not
properly detect that a block was marked dirty in some situations. An
attacker could use this to specially craft a file system image that, when
unmounted, could cause a denial of service (system crash). (CVE-2019-19377)

It was discovered that the linux kernel did not properly validate certain
mount options to the tmpfs virtual memory file system. A local attacker
with the ability to specify mount options could use this to cause a denial
of service (system crash). (CVE-2020-11565)

It was discovered that the block layer in the Linux kernel contained a race
condition leading to a use-after-free vulnerability. A local attacker could
possibly use this to cause a denial of service (system crash) or execute
arbitrary code. (CVE-2020-12657)

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 20.04

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.