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 1 511
Alerts This Week
Warning Icon 1 511

Ubuntu 14.04 LTS USN-3509-2 Critical: Kernel Denial Of Service Risks

ubuntu
Calendar Grey December 8, 2017
Scroller Ubuntu
Ubuntu 14.04 LTS has been granted patches addressing various kernel vulnerabilities that could potentially allow for denial of service attacks and unauthorized code execution.
Several security issues were fixed in the Linux kernel.

Summary

Several security issues were fixed in the Linux kernel.

Software Description:

- linux-aws: Linux kernel for Amazon Web Services (AWS) systems

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

Details:

USN-3509-1 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.

Mohamed Ghannam discovered that a use-after-free vulnerability existed in

the Netlink subsystem (XFRM) in the Linux kernel. A local attacker could

use this to cause a denial of service (system crash) or possibly execute

arbitrary code. (CVE-2017-16939)

It was discovered that the Linux kernel did not properly handle copy-on-

write of transparent huge pages. A local attacker could use this to cause a

denial of service (application crashes) or possibly gain administrative

privileges. (CVE-2017-1000405)

Fan Wu, Haoran Qiu, and Shixiong Zhao discove...

Read the Full Advisory

Topics%20covered

Topics Covered

security advisory denial of service kernel update Ubuntu system crash Linux kernel software mitigation

Update Instructions

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

Ubuntu 14.04 LTS:
  linux-image-4.4.0-1005-aws      4.4.0-1005.5
  linux-image-4.4.0-103-generic   4.4.0-103.126~14.04.1
  linux-image-4.4.0-103-generic-lpae  4.4.0-103.126~14.04.1
  linux-image-4.4.0-103-lowlatency  4.4.0-103.126~14.04.1
  linux-image-4.4.0-103-powerpc-e500mc  4.4.0-103.126~14.04.1
  linux-image-4.4.0-103-powerpc-smp  4.4.0-103.126~14.04.1
  linux-image-4.4.0-103-powerpc64-emb  4.4.0-103.126~14.04.1
  linux-image-4.4.0-103-powerpc64-smp  4.4.0-103.126~14.04.1
  linux-image-aws                 4.4.0.1005.5
  linux-image-generic-lpae-lts-xenial  4.4.0.103.86
  linux-image-generic-lts-xenial  4.4.0.103.86
  linux-image-lowlatency-lts-xenial  4.4.0.103.86
  linux-image-powerpc-e500mc-lts-xenial  4.4.0.103.86
  linux-image-powerpc-smp-lts-xenial  4.4.0.103.86
  linux-image-powerpc64-emb-lts-xenial  4.4.0.103.86
  linux-image-powerpc64-smp-lts-xenial  4.4.0.103.86

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-3509-1

CVE-2017-1000405, CVE-2017-12193, CVE-2017-16643, CVE-2017-16939

Severity
critical
Lowest
Low
Medium
High
Critical

December 07, 2017

Topics%20covered

Topics Covered

security advisory denial of service kernel update Ubuntu system crash Linux kernel software mitigation

Package Information

https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux-aws/4.4.0-1005.5
https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux-lts-xenial/4.4.0-103.126~14.04.1

Get the latest News and Insights

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