1. Ubuntu Security Notices
  2. USN-3836-2

USN-3836-2: Linux kernel (HWE) vulnerabilities

Publication date

4 December 2018

Overview

Several security issues were fixed in the Linux kernel.

Releases

Packages

  • linux-gcp - Linux kernel for Google Cloud Platform (GCP) systems
  • linux-hwe - Linux hardware enablement (HWE) kernel

Details

USN-3836-1 fixed vulnerabilities in the Linux kernel for Ubuntu 18.04
LTS. This update provides the corresponding updates for the Linux
Hardware Enablement (HWE) kernel from Ubuntu 18.04 LTS for Ubuntu
16.04 LTS.

Jann Horn discovered that the Linux kernel mishandles mapping UID or GID
ranges inside nested user namespaces in some situations. A local attacker
could use this to bypass access controls on resources outside the
namespace. (CVE-2018-18955)

Philipp Wendler discovered that the overlayfs implementation in the Linux
kernel did not properly verify the directory contents permissions from
within a unprivileged user namespace. A local attacker could use this to
expose sensitive information (protected file names). (CVE-2018-6559)

USN-3836-1 fixed vulnerabilities in the Linux kernel for Ubuntu 18.04
LTS. This update provides the corresponding updates for the Linux
Hardware Enablement (HWE) kernel from Ubuntu 18.04 LTS for Ubuntu
16.04 LTS.

Jann Horn discovered that the Linux kernel mishandles mapping UID or GID
ranges inside nested user namespaces in some situations. A local attacker
could use this to bypass access controls on resources outside the
namespace. (CVE-2018-18955)

Philipp Wendler discovered that the overlayfs implementation in the Linux
kernel did not properly verify the directory contents permissions from
within a unprivileged user namespace. A local attacker could use this to
expose sensitive information (protected file names). (CVE-2018-6559)

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-4.15.0-42-generic –  4.15.0-42.45~16.04.1
linux-image-4.15.0-42-generic-lpae –  4.15.0-42.45~16.04.1
linux-image-4.15.0-42-lowlatency –  4.15.0-42.45~16.04.1

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References

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