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Ubuntu 14.04 LTS: USN-2857-2 Critical: Linux Admin Access Issue

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Calendar Grey January 5, 2016
Scroller Ubuntu
Fedora Security Advisory FSA-2023-44 discloses a critical vulnerability in the system daemon that permits unauthorized user privilege escalation.
The system could be made to run programs as an administrator.

Summary

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

Software Description:

- linux-lts-vivid: Linux hardware enablement kernel from Vivid

Details:

Nathan Williams discovered that overlayfs in the Linux kernel incorrectly

handled setattr operations. A local unprivileged attacker could use this to

create files with administrative permission attributes and execute

arbitrary code with elevated privileges.

Topics%20covered

Topics Covered

security advisory critical issue administrative access linux-lts-vivid attack escalation

Update Instructions

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

Ubuntu 14.04 LTS:
  linux-image-3.19.0-43-generic   3.19.0-43.49~14.04.1
  linux-image-3.19.0-43-generic-lpae  3.19.0-43.49~14.04.1
  linux-image-3.19.0-43-lowlatency  3.19.0-43.49~14.04.1
  linux-image-3.19.0-43-powerpc-e500mc  3.19.0-43.49~14.04.1
  linux-image-3.19.0-43-powerpc-smp  3.19.0-43.49~14.04.1
  linux-image-3.19.0-43-powerpc64-emb  3.19.0-43.49~14.04.1
  linux-image-3.19.0-43-powerpc64-smp  3.19.0-43.49~14.04.1

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.
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.

References

https://ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-2857-2

https://ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-2857-1

CVE-2015-8660

Severity
critical
Lowest
Low
Medium
High
Critical

January 05, 2016

Topics%20covered

Topics Covered

security advisory critical issue administrative access linux-lts-vivid attack escalation

Package Information

https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux-lts-vivid/3.19.0-43.49~14.04.1

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