1. Ubuntu Security Notices
  2. USN-3509-1

USN-3509-1: Linux kernel vulnerabilities

Publication date

7 December 2017

Overview

Several security issues were fixed in the Linux kernel.

Releases

Packages

Details

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)

Fan Wu, Haoran Qiu, and Shixiong Zhao discovered that the associative array
implementation in the Linux kernel sometimes did not properly handle adding
a new entry. A local attacker could use this to cause a denial of service
(system crash). (CVE-2017-12193)

Andrey Konovalov discovered an out-of-bounds read in...

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)

Fan Wu, Haoran Qiu, and Shixiong Zhao discovered that the associative array
implementation in the Linux kernel sometimes did not properly handle adding
a new entry. A local attacker could use this to cause a denial of service
(system crash). (CVE-2017-12193)

Andrey Konovalov discovered an out-of-bounds read in the GTCO digitizer USB
driver for the Linux kernel. A physically proximate attacker could use this
to cause a denial of service (system crash) or possibly execute arbitrary
code. (CVE-2017-16643)

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-4.4.0-1012-kvm –  4.4.0-1012.17
linux-image-4.4.0-103-generic –  4.4.0-103.126
linux-image-4.4.0-103-generic-lpae –  4.4.0-103.126
linux-image-4.4.0-103-lowlatency –  4.4.0-103.126
linux-image-4.4.0-103-powerpc-e500mc –  4.4.0-103.126
linux-image-4.4.0-103-powerpc-smp –  4.4.0-103.126
linux-image-4.4.0-103-powerpc64-emb –  4.4.0-103.126
linux-image-4.4.0-103-powerpc64-smp –  4.4.0-103.126
linux-image-4.4.0-1043-aws –  4.4.0-1043.52
linux-image-4.4.0-1079-raspi2 –  4.4.0-1079.87
linux-image-4.4.0-1081-snapdragon –  4.4.0-1081.86

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References

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