linux-hwe vulnerabilities

Related Vulnerabilities: CVE-2017-16939   CVE-2017-1000405   CVE-2017-12146  

Several security issues were fixed in the Linux kernel.

USN-3508-1 fixed vulnerabilities in the Linux kernel for Ubuntu 17.04. This update provides the corresponding updates for the Linux Hardware Enablement (HWE) kernel from Ubuntu 17.04 for Ubuntu 16.04 LTS.

7 December 2017

linux-hwe vulnerabilities

A security issue affects these releases of Ubuntu and its derivatives:

  • Ubuntu 16.04 LTS

Summary

Several security issues were fixed in the Linux kernel.

Software Description

  • linux-hwe - Linux hardware enablement (HWE) kernel

Details

USN-3508-1 fixed vulnerabilities in the Linux kernel for Ubuntu 17.04. This update provides the corresponding updates for the Linux Hardware Enablement (HWE) kernel from Ubuntu 17.04 for Ubuntu 16.04 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)

Yonggang Guo discovered that a race condition existed in the driver subsystem in the Linux kernel. A local attacker could use this to possibly gain administrative privileges. (CVE-2017-12146)

Update instructions

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

Ubuntu 16.04 LTS
linux-image-4.10.0-42-generic - 4.10.0-42.46~16.04.1
linux-image-4.10.0-42-generic-lpae - 4.10.0-42.46~16.04.1
linux-image-4.10.0-42-lowlatency - 4.10.0-42.46~16.04.1
linux-image-generic-hwe-16.04 - 4.10.0.42.44
linux-image-generic-lpae-hwe-16.04 - 4.10.0.42.44
linux-image-lowlatency-hwe-16.04 - 4.10.0.42.44

To update your system, please follow these instructions: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Security/Upgrades.

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