USN-6701-1: Linux kernel vulnerabilities

18 March 2024

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-hwe - Linux hardware enablement (HWE) kernel
  • linux-kvm - Linux kernel for cloud environments
  • linux-oracle - Linux kernel for Oracle Cloud systems

Details

Ruihan Li discovered that the bluetooth subsystem in the Linux kernel did
not properly perform permissions checks when handling HCI sockets. A
physically proximate attacker could use this to cause a denial of service
(bluetooth communication). (CVE-2023-2002)

It was discovered that the NVIDIA Tegra XUSB pad controller driver in the
Linux kernel did not properly handle return values in certain error
conditions. A local attacker could use this to cause a denial of service
(system crash). (CVE-2023-23000)

It was discovered that Spectre-BHB mitigations were missing for Ampere
processors. A local attacker could potentially use this to expose sensitive
information. (CVE-2023-3006)

It was discovered that the ext4 file system implementation in the Linux
kernel did not properly handle block device modification while it is
mounted. A privileged attacker could use this to cause a denial of service
(system crash) or possibly expose sensitive information. (CVE-2023-34256)

Eric Dumazet discovered that the netfilter subsystem in the Linux kernel
did not properly handle DCCP conntrack buffers in certain situations,
leading to an out-of-bounds read vulnerability. An attacker could possibly
use this to expose sensitive information (kernel memory). (CVE-2023-39197)

It was discovered that the Siano USB MDTV receiver device driver in the
Linux kernel did not properly handle device initialization failures in
certain situations, leading to a use-after-free vulnerability. A physically
proximate attacker could use this cause a denial of service (system crash).
(CVE-2023-4132)

Pratyush Yadav discovered that the Xen network backend implementation in
the Linux kernel did not properly handle zero length data request, leading
to a null pointer dereference vulnerability. An attacker in a guest VM
could possibly use this to cause a denial of service (host domain crash).
(CVE-2023-46838)

It was discovered that a race condition existed in the AppleTalk networking
subsystem of the Linux kernel, leading to a use-after-free vulnerability. A
local attacker could use this to cause a denial of service (system crash)
or possibly execute arbitrary code. (CVE-2023-51781)

Alon Zahavi discovered that the NVMe-oF/TCP subsystem of the Linux kernel
did not properly handle connect command payloads in certain situations,
leading to an out-of-bounds read vulnerability. A remote attacker could use
this to expose sensitive information (kernel memory). (CVE-2023-6121)

It was discovered that the ext4 file system implementation in the Linux
kernel did not properly handle the remount operation in certain cases,
leading to a use-after-free vulnerability. A local attacker could use this
to cause a denial of service (system crash) or possibly expose sensitive
information. (CVE-2024-0775)

Notselwyn discovered that the netfilter subsystem in the Linux kernel did
not properly handle verdict parameters in certain cases, leading to a use-
after-free vulnerability. A local attacker could use this to cause a denial
of service (system crash) or possibly execute arbitrary code.
(CVE-2024-1086)

It was discovered that a race condition existed in the SCSI Emulex
LightPulse Fibre Channel driver in the Linux kernel when unregistering FCF
and re-scanning an HBA FCF table, leading to a null pointer dereference
vulnerability. A local attacker could use this to cause a denial of service
(system crash). (CVE-2024-24855)

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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.

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Update instructions

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

Ubuntu 18.04
Ubuntu 16.04

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.