Ubuntu 18.04: USN-3690-1 Critical: Spectre Information Exposure

ubuntu

June 20, 2018

The system could be made to expose sensitive information.

Summary

The system could be made to expose sensitive information.

Software Description:

- amd64-microcode: Processor microcode firmware for AMD CPUs

Details:

Jann Horn discovered that microprocessors utilizing speculative execution

and branch prediction may allow unauthorized memory reads via sidechannel

attacks. This flaw is known as Spectre. A local attacker could use this to

expose sensitive information, including kernel memory.

This update provides the microcode updates for AMD 17H family

processors required for the corresponding Linux kernel updates.

Topics Covered

security advisory critical Ubuntu system patch information exposure microcode spectre

Update Instructions

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

Ubuntu 18.04 LTS:
  amd64-microcode                 3.20180524.1~ubuntu0.18.04.1

Ubuntu 17.10:
  amd64-microcode                 3.20180524.1~ubuntu0.17.10.1

Ubuntu 16.04 LTS:
  amd64-microcode                 3.20180524.1~ubuntu0.16.04.1

Ubuntu 14.04 LTS:
  amd64-microcode                 3.20180524.1~ubuntu0.14.04.1

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