USN-4680-1: Linux kernel vulnerabilities

6 January 2021

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-aws-hwe - Linux kernel for Amazon Web Services (AWS-HWE) systems
  • linux-azure - Linux kernel for Microsoft Azure Cloud systems
  • linux-azure-4.15 - Linux kernel for Microsoft Azure Cloud systems
  • linux-gcp - Linux kernel for Google Cloud Platform (GCP) systems
  • linux-gcp-4.15 - Linux kernel for Google Cloud Platform (GCP) systems
  • linux-gke-4.15 - Linux kernel for Google Container Engine (GKE) systems
  • linux-hwe - Linux hardware enablement (HWE) kernel
  • linux-kvm - Linux kernel for cloud environments
  • linux-oracle - Linux kernel for Oracle Cloud systems
  • linux-raspi2 - Linux kernel for Raspberry Pi (V8) systems
  • linux-snapdragon - Linux kernel for Qualcomm Snapdragon processors

Details

It was discovered that debugfs in the Linux kernel as used by blktrace
contained a use-after-free in some situations. A privileged local attacker
could possibly use this to cause a denial of service (system crash).
(CVE-2019-19770)

It was discovered that a race condition existed in the binder IPC
implementation in 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-2020-0423)

Daniele Antonioli, Nils Ole Tippenhauer, and Kasper Rasmussen discovered
that legacy pairing and secure-connections pairing authentication in the
Bluetooth protocol could allow an unauthenticated user to complete
authentication without pairing credentials via adjacent access. A
physically proximate attacker could use this to impersonate a previously
paired Bluetooth device. (CVE-2020-10135)

It was discovered that the console keyboard driver in the Linux kernel
contained a race condition. A local attacker could use this to expose
sensitive information (kernel memory). (CVE-2020-25656)

Minh Yuan discovered that the tty driver in the Linux kernel contained race
conditions when handling fonts. A local attacker could possibly use this to
expose sensitive information (kernel memory). (CVE-2020-25668)

Keyu Man discovered that the ICMP global rate limiter in the Linux kernel
could be used to assist in scanning open UDP ports. A remote attacker could
use to facilitate attacks on UDP based services that depend on source port
randomization. (CVE-2020-25705)

Jinoh Kang discovered that the Xen event channel infrastructure in the
Linux kernel contained a race condition. An attacker in guest could
possibly use this to cause a denial of service (dom0 crash).
(CVE-2020-27675)

Daniel Axtens discovered that PowerPC RTAS implementation in the Linux
kernel did not properly restrict memory accesses in some situations. A
privileged local attacker could use this to arbitrarily modify kernel
memory, potentially bypassing kernel lockdown restrictions.
(CVE-2020-27777)

Minh Yuan discovered that the framebuffer console driver in the Linux
kernel did not properly handle fonts in some conditions. A local attacker
could use this to cause a denial of service (system crash) or possibly
expose sensitive information (kernel memory). (CVE-2020-28974)

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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 18.04
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

Related notices

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