USN-6739-1: Linux kernel vulnerabilities

19 April 2024

Several security issues were fixed in the Linux kernel.

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Releases

Packages

  • linux - Linux kernel
  • linux-aws - Linux kernel for Amazon Web Services (AWS) systems
  • linux-kvm - Linux kernel for cloud environments
  • linux-lts-xenial - Linux hardware enablement kernel from Xenial for Trusty

Details

It was discovered that a race condition existed in the instruction emulator
of the Linux kernel on Arm 64-bit systems. A local attacker could use this
to cause a denial of service (system crash). (CVE-2022-20422)

Wei Chen discovered that a race condition existed in the TIPC protocol
implementation in the Linux kernel, leading to a null pointer dereference
vulnerability. A local attacker could use this to cause a denial of service
(system crash). (CVE-2023-1382)

Jose Oliveira and Rodrigo Branco discovered that the Spectre Variant 2
mitigations with prctl syscall were insufficient in some situations. A
local attacker could possibly use this to expose sensitive information.
(CVE-2023-1998)

Daniele Antonioli discovered that the Secure Simple Pairing and Secure
Connections pairing in the Bluetooth protocol could allow an
unauthenticated user to complete authentication without pairing
credentials. A physically proximate attacker placed between two Bluetooth
devices could use this to subsequently impersonate one of the paired
devices. (CVE-2023-24023)

shanzhulig discovered that the DRM subsystem in the Linux kernel contained
a race condition when performing certain operation while handling driver
unload, leading to a use-after-free vulnerability. A local attacker could
use this to cause a denial of service (system crash) or possibly execute
arbitrary code. (CVE-2023-51043)

It was discovered that a race condition existed in the Bluetooth subsystem
of the Linux kernel, leading to a use-after-free vulnerability. A local
attacker could use this to cause a denial of service (system crash) or
possibly execute arbitrary code. (CVE-2023-51779)

It was discovered that the device mapper driver in the Linux kernel did not
properly validate target size during certain memory allocations. A local
attacker could use this to cause a denial of service (system crash).
(CVE-2023-52429, CVE-2024-23851)

Several security issues were discovered in the Linux kernel.
An attacker could possibly use these to compromise the system.
This update corrects flaws in the following subsystems:

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Ubuntu Pro provides ten-year security coverage to 25,000+ packages in Main and Universe repositories, and it is free for up to five machines.

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Update instructions

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

Ubuntu 16.04
Ubuntu 14.04

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

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