Several security issues were addressed in the Linux kernel.
USN-3542-1 addressed vulnerabilities in the Linux kernel for Ubuntu 14.04 LTS. This update provides the corresponding updates for the Linux Hardware Enablement (HWE) kernel from Ubuntu 14.04 LTS for Ubuntu 12.04 ESM.
23 January 2018
A security issue affects these releases of Ubuntu and its derivatives:
Several security issues were addressed in the Linux kernel.
USN-3542-1 addressed vulnerabilities in the Linux kernel for Ubuntu 14.04 LTS. This update provides the corresponding updates for the Linux Hardware Enablement (HWE) kernel from Ubuntu 14.04 LTS for Ubuntu 12.04 ESM.
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 mitigations for the i386 (CVE-2017-5753 only) and amd64 architectures.
The problem can be corrected by updating your system to the following package versions:
To update your system, please follow these instructions: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Security/Upgrades.
Please note that fully mitigating CVE-2017-5715 (Spectre Variant 2) requires corresponding processor microcode/firmware updates or, in virtual environments, hypervisor updates. On i386 and amd64 architectures, the IBRS and IBPB features are required to enable the kernel mitigations. Ubuntu is working with Intel and AMD to provide future microcode updates that implement IBRS and IBPB as they are made available. Ubuntu users with a processor from a different vendor should contact the vendor to identify necessary firmware updates. Ubuntu will provide corresponding QEMU updates in the future for users of self-hosted virtual environments in coordination with upstream QEMU. Ubuntu users in cloud environments should contact the cloud provider to confirm that the hypervisor has been updated to expose the new CPU features to virtual machines.
After a standard system update you need to reboot your computer to apply the necessary changes.
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