Overly broad permissions can turn one compromised account into a much larger security problem. Learn how to reduce unnecessary access, review privileges, and apply least privilege across modern Linux systems. Review Linux Privileges×

Alerts This Week
Warning Icon 1 521
Alerts This Week
Warning Icon 1 521

Ubuntu 14.04 LTS USN-3151-2 Critical: Kernel Denial of Service Risk

ubuntu
Calendar Grey December 6, 2016
Scroller Ubuntu
Important patch released for Ubuntu 14.04 LTS to fix kernel weaknesses that may lead to system instability or unauthorized access.
The system could be made to crash or run programs as an administrator.

Summary

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

Software Description:

- linux-lts-xenial: Linux hardware enablement kernel from Xenial for Trusty

Details:

USN-3151-1 fixed vulnerabilities in the Linux kernel for Ubuntu 16.04

LTS. This update provides the corresponding updates for the Linux

Hardware Enablement (HWE) kernel from Ubuntu 16.04 LTS for Ubuntu

14.04 LTS.

Philip Pettersson discovered a race condition in the af_packet

implementation in the Linux kernel. A local unprivileged attacker could use

this to cause a denial of service (system crash) or run arbitrary code with

administrative privileges.

Update Instructions

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

Ubuntu 14.04 LTS:
  linux-image-4.4.0-53-generic    4.4.0-53.74~14.04.1
  linux-image-4.4.0-53-generic-lpae  4.4.0-53.74~14.04.1
  linux-image-4.4.0-53-lowlatency  4.4.0-53.74~14.04.1
  linux-image-4.4.0-53-powerpc-e500mc  4.4.0-53.74~14.04.1
  linux-image-4.4.0-53-powerpc-smp  4.4.0-53.74~14.04.1
  linux-image-4.4.0-53-powerpc64-emb  4.4.0-53.74~14.04.1
  linux-image-4.4.0-53-powerpc64-smp  4.4.0-53.74~14.04.1
  linux-image-generic-lpae-lts-xenial  4.4.0.53.40
  linux-image-generic-lts-xenial  4.4.0.53.40
  linux-image-lowlatency-lts-xenial  4.4.0.53.40
  linux-image-powerpc-e500mc-lts-xenial  4.4.0.53.40
  linux-image-powerpc-smp-lts-xenial  4.4.0.53.40
  linux-image-powerpc64-emb-lts-xenial  4.4.0.53.40
  linux-image-powerpc64-smp-lts-xenial  4.4.0.53.40

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-3151-2

https://ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-3151-1

CVE-2016-8655

Severity
critical
Lowest
Low
Medium
High
Critical

December 05, 2016

Package Information

Get the latest News and Insights

Get the latest Linux and open source security news straight to your inbox.