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Ubuntu 2529-1: Linux kernel (Utopic HWE) vulnerability

Date 12 Mar 2015

Category Ubuntu Linux Distribution - Security Advisories

Posted By LinuxSecurity Advisories

The system could be made to crash or run programs as an administrator.

==========================================================================
Ubuntu Security Notice USN-2529-1
March 12, 2015

linux-lts-utopic vulnerability
==========================================================================

A security issue affects these releases of Ubuntu and its derivatives:

- Ubuntu 14.04 LTS

Summary:

The system could be made to crash or run programs as an administrator.

Software Description:
- linux-lts-utopic: Linux hardware enablement kernel from Utopic

Details:

It was discovered that the Linux kernel's Infiniband subsystem did not
properly sanitize its input parameters while registering memory regions
from userspace. A local user could exploit this flaw to cause a denial of
service (system crash) or to potentially gain administrative privileges.

Update instructions:

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

Ubuntu 14.04 LTS:
  linux-image-3.16.0-31-generic   3.16.0-31.43~14.04.1
  linux-image-3.16.0-31-generic-lpae  3.16.0-31.43~14.04.1
  linux-image-3.16.0-31-lowlatency  3.16.0-31.43~14.04.1
  linux-image-3.16.0-31-powerpc-e500mc  3.16.0-31.43~14.04.1
  linux-image-3.16.0-31-powerpc-smp  3.16.0-31.43~14.04.1
  linux-image-3.16.0-31-powerpc64-emb  3.16.0-31.43~14.04.1
  linux-image-3.16.0-31-powerpc64-smp  3.16.0-31.43~14.04.1

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

References:
  https://www.ubuntu.com/usn/usn-2529-1
  CVE-2014-8159

Package Information:
  https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux-lts-utopic/3.16.0-31.43~14.04.1