USN-3470-1: Linux kernel vulnerabilities

Publication date

31 October 2017

Overview

Several security issues were fixed in the Linux kernel.

Releases


Packages

Details

Qian Zhang discovered a heap-based buffer overflow in the tipc_msg_build()
function in the Linux kernel. A local attacker could use to cause a denial
of service (system crash) or possibly execute arbitrary code with
administrative privileges. (CVE-2016-8632)

Dmitry Vyukov discovered that a race condition existed in the timerfd
subsystem of the Linux kernel when handling might_cancel queuing. A local
attacker could use this to cause a denial of service (system crash) or
possibly execute arbitrary code. (CVE-2017-10661)

It was discovered that the Flash-Friendly File System (f2fs) implementation
in the Linux kernel did not properly validate superblock metadata. A local
attacker could use this to cause a denial of service (system crash) or
possibly execute arbitrary code. (CVE-2017-10662,

Qian Zhang discovered a heap-based buffer overflow in the tipc_msg_build()
function in the Linux kernel. A local attacker could use to cause a denial
of service (system crash) or possibly execute arbitrary code with
administrative privileges. (CVE-2016-8632)

Dmitry Vyukov discovered that a race condition existed in the timerfd
subsystem of the Linux kernel when handling might_cancel queuing. A local
attacker could use this to cause a denial of service (system crash) or
possibly execute arbitrary code. (CVE-2017-10661)

It was discovered that the Flash-Friendly File System (f2fs) implementation
in the Linux kernel did not properly validate superblock metadata. A local
attacker could use this to cause a denial of service (system crash) or
possibly execute arbitrary code. (CVE-2017-10662, CVE-2017-10663)

Anthony Perard discovered that the Xen virtual block driver did not
properly initialize some data structures before passing them to user space.
A local attacker in a guest VM could use this to expose sensitive
information from the host OS or other guest VMs. (CVE-2017-10911)

It was discovered that a use-after-free vulnerability existed in the POSIX
message queue implementation in the Linux kernel. A local attacker could
use this to cause a denial of service (system crash) or possibly execute
arbitrary code. (CVE-2017-11176)

Dave Chinner discovered that the XFS filesystem did not enforce that the
realtime inode flag was settable only on filesystems on a realtime device.
A local attacker could use this to cause a denial of service (system
crash). (CVE-2017-14340)


Update instructions

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

Learn more about how to get the fixes.

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.

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


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.


Have additional questions?

Talk to a member of the team ›