USN-1041-1: Linux kernel vulnerabilities

10 January 2011

Multiple security flaws in Linux kernel.

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Releases

Packages

Details

Louis Rilling and Matthieu Fertré reported a use after free error in the
Linux kernel's futex_wait function. A local user could exploit this flaw to
cause a denial of service (system crash) or possibly gain privileges via a
specially crafted application. (CVE-2014-0205)

Ben Hawkes discovered that the Linux kernel did not correctly filter
registers on 64bit kernels when performing 32bit system calls. On a 64bit
system, a local attacker could manipulate 32bit system calls to gain root
privileges. (CVE-2010-3301)

Dan Rosenberg discovered that the btrfs filesystem did not correctly
validate permissions when using the clone function. A local attacker could
overwrite the contents of file handles that were opened for append-only, or
potentially read arbitrary contents, leading to a loss of privacy.
(CVE-2010-2537, CVE-2010-2538)

Dave Chinner discovered that the XFS filesystem did not correctly order
inode lookups when exported by NFS. A remote attacker could exploit this to
read or write disk blocks that had changed file assignment or had become
unlinked, leading to a loss of privacy. (CVE-2010-2943)

Kees Cook discovered that the Intel i915 graphics driver did not correctly
validate memory regions. A local attacker with access to the video card
could read and write arbitrary kernel memory to gain root privileges.
(CVE-2010-2962)

Robert Swiecki discovered that ftrace did not correctly handle mutexes. A
local attacker could exploit this to crash the kernel, leading to a denial
of service. (CVE-2010-3079)

Dan Rosenberg discovered that several network ioctls did not clear kernel
memory correctly. A local user could exploit this to read kernel stack
memory, leading to a loss of privacy. (CVE-2010-3296, CVE-2010-3297,
CVE-2010-3298)

It was discovered that KVM did not correctly initialize certain CPU
registers. A local attacker could exploit this to crash the system, leading
to a denial of service. (CVE-2010-3698)

Brad Spengler discovered that stack memory for new a process was not
correctly calculated. A local attacker could exploit this to crash the
system, leading to a denial of service. (CVE-2010-3858)

Kees Cook discovered that the ethtool interface did not correctly clear
kernel memory. A local attacker could read kernel heap memory, leading to a
loss of privacy. (CVE-2010-3861)

Kees Cook and Vasiliy Kulikov discovered that the shm interface did not
clear kernel memory correctly. A local attacker could exploit this to read
kernel stack memory, leading to a loss of privacy. (CVE-2010-4072)

Dan Rosenberg discovered that the RME Hammerfall DSP audio interface driver
did not correctly clear kernel memory. A local attacker could exploit this
to read kernel stack memory, leading to a loss of privacy. (CVE-2010-4080,
CVE-2010-4081)

James Bottomley discovered that the ICP vortex storage array controller
driver did not validate certain sizes. A local attacker on a 64bit system
could exploit this to crash the kernel, leading to a denial of service.
(CVE-2010-4157)

Alan Cox discovered that the HCI UART driver did not correctly check if a
write operation was available. If the mmap_min-addr sysctl was changed from
the Ubuntu default to a value of 0, a local attacker could exploit this
flaw to gain root privileges. (CVE-2010-4242)

Kees Cook discovered that some ethtool functions did not correctly clear
heap memory. A local attacker with CAP_NET_ADMIN privileges could exploit
this to read portions of kernel heap memory, leading to a loss of privacy.
(CVE-2010-4655)

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Update instructions

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

Ubuntu 9.10
Ubuntu 10.10
Ubuntu 10.04

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 Ubuntu 10.04 LTS and
Ubuntu 10.10 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. If you use linux-restricted-modules,
you have to update that package as well to get modules which work with
the new kernel version. Unless you manually uninstalled the standard
kernel metapackages (e.g. linux-generic, linux-server, linux-powerpc),
a standard system upgrade will automatically perform this as well.