USN-4879-1: Linux kernel vulnerabilities

Publication date

16 March 2021

Overview

Several security issues were fixed in the Linux kernel.


Packages

  • linux - Linux kernel
  • linux-aws - Linux kernel for Amazon Web Services (AWS) systems
  • linux-azure - Linux kernel for Microsoft Azure Cloud systems
  • linux-gcp - Linux kernel for Google Cloud Platform (GCP) systems
  • linux-hwe-5.8 - Linux hardware enablement (HWE) kernel
  • linux-kvm - Linux kernel for cloud environments
  • linux-oracle - Linux kernel for Oracle Cloud systems
  • linux-raspi - Linux kernel for Raspberry Pi (V8) systems

Details

It was discovered that the Marvell WiFi-Ex device driver in the Linux
kernel did not properly validate ad-hoc SSIDs. A local attacker could use
this to cause a denial of service (system crash) or possibly execute
arbitrary code. (CVE-2020-36158)

Loris Reiff discovered that the BPF implementation in the Linux kernel did
not properly validate attributes in the getsockopt BPF hook. A local
attacker could possibly use this to cause a denial of service (system
crash). (CVE-2021-20194)

It was discovered that the Marvell WiFi-Ex device driver in the Linux
kernel did not properly validate ad-hoc SSIDs. A local attacker could use
this to cause a denial of service (system crash) or possibly execute
arbitrary code. (CVE-2020-36158)

Loris Reiff discovered that the BPF implementation in the Linux kernel did
not properly validate attributes in the getsockopt BPF hook. A local
attacker could possibly use this to cause a denial of service (system
crash). (CVE-2021-20194)

Update instructions

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

Learn more about how to get the fixes.

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.

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

Ubuntu Release Package Version
20.10 groovy linux-image-5.8.0-1017-raspi –  5.8.0-1017.20
linux-image-5.8.0-1017-raspi-nolpae –  5.8.0-1017.20
linux-image-5.8.0-1020-kvm –  5.8.0-1020.22
linux-image-5.8.0-1022-oracle –  5.8.0-1022.23
linux-image-5.8.0-1024-azure –  5.8.0-1024.26
linux-image-5.8.0-1024-gcp –  5.8.0-1024.25
linux-image-5.8.0-1025-aws –  5.8.0-1025.27
linux-image-5.8.0-45-generic –  5.8.0-45.51
linux-image-5.8.0-45-generic-64k –  5.8.0-45.51
linux-image-5.8.0-45-generic-lpae –  5.8.0-45.51
linux-image-5.8.0-45-lowlatency –  5.8.0-45.51
linux-image-aws –  5.8.0.1025.27
linux-image-azure –  5.8.0.1024.24
linux-image-gcp –  5.8.0.1024.24
linux-image-generic –  5.8.0.45.50
linux-image-generic-64k –  5.8.0.45.50
linux-image-generic-lpae –  5.8.0.45.50
linux-image-gke –  5.8.0.1024.24
linux-image-kvm –  5.8.0.1020.22
linux-image-lowlatency –  5.8.0.45.50
linux-image-oem-20.04 –  5.8.0.45.50
linux-image-oracle –  5.8.0.1022.21
linux-image-raspi –  5.8.0.1017.20
linux-image-raspi-nolpae –  5.8.0.1017.20
linux-image-virtual –  5.8.0.45.50
20.04 focal linux-image-5.8.0-45-generic –  5.8.0-45.51~20.04.1
linux-image-5.8.0-45-generic-64k –  5.8.0-45.51~20.04.1
linux-image-5.8.0-45-generic-lpae –  5.8.0-45.51~20.04.1
linux-image-5.8.0-45-lowlatency –  5.8.0-45.51~20.04.1
linux-image-generic-64k-hwe-20.04 –  5.8.0.45.51~20.04.31
linux-image-generic-hwe-20.04 –  5.8.0.45.51~20.04.31
linux-image-generic-lpae-hwe-20.04 –  5.8.0.45.51~20.04.31
linux-image-lowlatency-hwe-20.04 –  5.8.0.45.51~20.04.31
linux-image-virtual-hwe-20.04 –  5.8.0.45.51~20.04.31

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