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Ubuntu 12.04 LTS: USN-1529-1 Addresses Serious Kernel Vulnerabilities

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Calendar Grey August 10, 2012
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Remedial measures for Linux kernel vulnerabilities in Ubuntu 12.04 LTS tackling various security risks.
Several security issues were fixed in the kernel.

Summary

Several security issues were fixed in the kernel.

Software Description:

- linux: Linux kernel

Details:

A flaw was discovered in the Linux kernel's macvtap device driver, which is

used in KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine) to create a network bridge

between host and guest. A privleged user in a guest could exploit this flaw

to crash the host, if the vhost_net module is loaded with the

experimental_zcopytx option enabled. (CVE-2012-2119)

An error was discovered in the Linux kernel's network TUN/TAP device

implementation. A local user with access to the TUN/TAP interface (which is

not available to unprivileged users until granted by a root user) could

exploit this flaw to crash the system or potential gain administrative

privileges. (CVE-2012-2136)

A flaw was found in how the Linux kernel's KVM (Kernel-based Virtual

Machine) subsystem handled MSI (Message Signaled Interrupts). A local

unprivileged user could exploit this flaw to cause a denial of service or

...

Read the Full Advisory

Update Instructions

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

Ubuntu 12.04 LTS:
  linux-image-3.2.0-29-generic    3.2.0-29.46
  linux-image-3.2.0-29-generic-pae  3.2.0-29.46
  linux-image-3.2.0-29-highbank   3.2.0-29.46
  linux-image-3.2.0-29-omap       3.2.0-29.46
  linux-image-3.2.0-29-powerpc-smp  3.2.0-29.46
  linux-image-3.2.0-29-powerpc64-smp  3.2.0-29.46
  linux-image-3.2.0-29-virtual    3.2.0-29.46

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. If
you use linux-restricted-modules, you have to update that package as
well to get modules which work with the new kernel version. Unless you
manually uninstalled the standard kernel metapackages (e.g. linux-generic,
linux-server, linux-powerpc), a standard system upgrade will automatically
perform this as well.

References

https://ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-1529-1

CVE-2012-2119, CVE-2012-2136, CVE-2012-2137, CVE-2012-2372,

CVE-2012-2373, CVE-2012-3364, CVE-2012-3375, CVE-2012-3400

Severity
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August 10, 2012

Package Information

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