1. Ubuntu Security Notices
  2. USN-3508-2

USN-3508-2: Linux kernel (HWE) vulnerabilities

Publication date

7 December 2017

Overview

Several security issues were fixed in the Linux kernel.

Releases

Packages

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

Details

USN-3508-1 fixed vulnerabilities in the Linux kernel for Ubuntu 17.04.
This update provides the corresponding updates for the Linux
Hardware Enablement (HWE) kernel from Ubuntu 17.04 for Ubuntu
16.04 LTS.

Mohamed Ghannam discovered that a use-after-free vulnerability existed in
the Netlink subsystem (XFRM) in the Linux kernel. A local attacker could
use this to cause a denial of service (system crash) or possibly execute
arbitrary code. (CVE-2017-16939)

It was discovered that the Linux kernel did not properly handle copy-on-
write of transparent huge pages. A local attacker could use this to cause a
denial of service (application crashes) or possibly gain administrative
privileges. (CVE-2017-1000405)

Yonggang Guo discovered that a race condition existed in the driver
subsystem in the Linux kernel. A local attacker could use this to...

USN-3508-1 fixed vulnerabilities in the Linux kernel for Ubuntu 17.04.
This update provides the corresponding updates for the Linux
Hardware Enablement (HWE) kernel from Ubuntu 17.04 for Ubuntu
16.04 LTS.

Mohamed Ghannam discovered that a use-after-free vulnerability existed in
the Netlink subsystem (XFRM) in the Linux kernel. A local attacker could
use this to cause a denial of service (system crash) or possibly execute
arbitrary code. (CVE-2017-16939)

It was discovered that the Linux kernel did not properly handle copy-on-
write of transparent huge pages. A local attacker could use this to cause a
denial of service (application crashes) or possibly gain administrative
privileges. (CVE-2017-1000405)

Yonggang Guo discovered that a race condition existed in the driver
subsystem in the Linux kernel. A local attacker could use this to possibly
gain administrative privileges. (CVE-2017-12146)

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:

Ubuntu Release Package Version
16.04 xenial linux-image-4.10.0-42-generic –  4.10.0-42.46~16.04.1
linux-image-4.10.0-42-generic-lpae –  4.10.0-42.46~16.04.1
linux-image-4.10.0-42-lowlatency –  4.10.0-42.46~16.04.1

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References

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