1. Ubuntu Security Notices
  2. USN-3641-1

USN-3641-1: Linux kernel vulnerabilities

Publication date

8 May 2018

Overview

Several security issues were fixed in the Linux kernel.

Releases

Packages

  • linux - Linux kernel
  • linux-aws - Linux kernel for Amazon Web Services (AWS) systems
  • linux-azure - Linux kernel for Microsoft Azure Cloud systems
  • linux-euclid - Linux kernel for Intel Euclid systems
  • linux-gcp - Linux kernel for Google Cloud Platform (GCP) systems
  • linux-hwe - Linux hardware enablement (HWE) kernel
  • linux-kvm - Linux kernel for cloud environments
  • linux-lts-xenial - Linux hardware enablement kernel from Xenial for Trusty
  • linux-oem - Linux kernel for OEM processors
  • linux-raspi2 - Linux kernel for Raspberry Pi 2
  • linux-snapdragon - Linux kernel for Snapdragon processors

Details

Nick Peterson discovered that the Linux kernel did not
properly handle debug exceptions following a MOV/POP to SS
instruction. A local attacker could use this to cause a denial
of service (system crash). This issue only affected the amd64
architecture. (CVE-2018-8897)

Andy Lutomirski discovered that the KVM subsystem of the Linux kernel
did not properly emulate the ICEBP instruction following a MOV/POP
to SS instruction. A local attacker in a KVM virtual machine could
use this to cause a denial of service (guest VM crash) or possibly
escalate privileges inside of the virtual machine. This issue only
affected the i386 and amd64 architectures. (CVE-2018-1087)

Andy Lutomirski discovered that the Linux kernel did not properly
perform error handling on virtualized debug registers. A local
attacker could use this to cause a denial of service (system...

Nick Peterson discovered that the Linux kernel did not
properly handle debug exceptions following a MOV/POP to SS
instruction. A local attacker could use this to cause a denial
of service (system crash). This issue only affected the amd64
architecture. (CVE-2018-8897)

Andy Lutomirski discovered that the KVM subsystem of the Linux kernel
did not properly emulate the ICEBP instruction following a MOV/POP
to SS instruction. A local attacker in a KVM virtual machine could
use this to cause a denial of service (guest VM crash) or possibly
escalate privileges inside of the virtual machine. This issue only
affected the i386 and amd64 architectures. (CVE-2018-1087)

Andy Lutomirski discovered that the Linux kernel did not properly
perform error handling on virtualized debug registers. A local
attacker could use this to cause a denial of service (system crash)
or possibly execute arbitrary code. (CVE-2018-1000199)

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
17.10 artful linux-image-4.13.0-1019-raspi2 –  4.13.0-1019.20
linux-image-4.13.0-41-generic –  4.13.0-41.46
linux-image-4.13.0-41-generic-lpae –  4.13.0-41.46
linux-image-4.13.0-41-lowlatency –  4.13.0-41.46
linux-image-generic –  4.13.0.41.44
linux-image-generic-lpae –  4.13.0.41.44
linux-image-lowlatency –  4.13.0.41.44
linux-image-raspi2 –  4.13.0.1019.17
16.04 xenial linux-image-4.13.0-1015-gcp –  4.13.0-1015.19
linux-image-4.13.0-1016-azure –  4.13.0-1016.19
linux-image-4.13.0-1026-oem –  4.13.0-1026.29
linux-image-4.13.0-41-generic –  4.13.0-41.46~16.04.1
linux-image-4.13.0-41-generic-lpae –  4.13.0-41.46~16.04.1
linux-image-4.13.0-41-lowlatency –  4.13.0-41.46~16.04.1
linux-image-4.4.0-1023-kvm –  4.4.0-1023.28
linux-image-4.4.0-1057-aws –  4.4.0-1057.66
linux-image-4.4.0-1089-raspi2 –  4.4.0-1089.97
linux-image-4.4.0-1092-snapdragon –  4.4.0-1092.97
linux-image-4.4.0-124-generic –  4.4.0-124.148
linux-image-4.4.0-124-generic-lpae –  4.4.0-124.148
linux-image-4.4.0-124-lowlatency –  4.4.0-124.148
linux-image-4.4.0-124-powerpc-e500mc –  4.4.0-124.148
linux-image-4.4.0-124-powerpc-smp –  4.4.0-124.148
linux-image-4.4.0-124-powerpc64-emb –  4.4.0-124.148
linux-image-4.4.0-124-powerpc64-smp –  4.4.0-124.148
linux-image-4.4.0-9027-euclid –  4.4.0-9027.29
14.04 trusty linux-image-3.13.0-147-generic –  3.13.0-147.196
linux-image-3.13.0-147-generic-lpae –  3.13.0-147.196
linux-image-3.13.0-147-lowlatency –  3.13.0-147.196
linux-image-3.13.0-147-powerpc-e500 –  3.13.0-147.196
linux-image-3.13.0-147-powerpc-e500mc –  3.13.0-147.196
linux-image-3.13.0-147-powerpc-smp –  3.13.0-147.196
linux-image-3.13.0-147-powerpc64-emb –  3.13.0-147.196
linux-image-3.13.0-147-powerpc64-smp –  3.13.0-147.196
linux-image-4.4.0-1019-aws –  4.4.0-1019.19
linux-image-4.4.0-124-generic –  4.4.0-124.148~14.04.1
linux-image-4.4.0-124-generic-lpae –  4.4.0-124.148~14.04.1
linux-image-4.4.0-124-lowlatency –  4.4.0-124.148~14.04.1
linux-image-4.4.0-124-powerpc-e500mc –  4.4.0-124.148~14.04.1
linux-image-4.4.0-124-powerpc-smp –  4.4.0-124.148~14.04.1
linux-image-4.4.0-124-powerpc64-emb –  4.4.0-124.148~14.04.1
linux-image-4.4.0-124-powerpc64-smp –  4.4.0-124.148~14.04.1

Reduce your security exposure

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.

Get Ubuntu Pro

References

Have additional questions?

Talk to a member of the team ›