USN-60-0: Linux kernel vulnerabilities

Releases

• Ubuntu 4.10

Details

CAN-2005-0001:

Paul Starzetz discovered a race condition in the Linux page fault
handler code. This allowed an unprivileged user to gain root
privileges on multiprocessor machines under some circumstances.
This also affects the Hyper-Threading mode on Pentium 4 processors.

http://lists.netsys.com/pipermail/full-disclosure/2005-January/030660.html:

Brad Spengler discovered that some device drivers used
copy_from_user() (a function to copy data from userspace tools into
kernel memory) with insufficient input validation. This potentially
allowed users and/or malicious hardware to overwrite kernel memory
which could result in a crash (Denial of Service) or even root
privilege escalation.

Additionally, this update corrects the SMB file system driver.
USN-30-1 fixed some vulnerabilities in this driver (see CAN-2004-0883,
CAN-2004-0949). However, it was found that these new validation checks
were too strict, which cause some valid operations to fail.

Update instructions

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

Ubuntu 4.10

• linux-image-2.6.8.1-4-amd64-k8 -
• linux-image-2.6.8.1-4-amd64-generic -
• linux-image-2.6.8.1-4-386 -
• linux-image-2.6.8.1-4-powerpc -
• linux-image-2.6.8.1-4-power4 -
• linux-image-2.6.8.1-4-amd64-xeon -
• linux-image-2.6.8.1-4-k7 -
• linux-image-2.6.8.1-4-k7-smp -
• linux-image-2.6.8.1-4-amd64-k8-smp -
• linux-image-2.6.8.1-4-686-smp -
• linux-patch-debian-2.6.8.1 -
• linux-image-2.6.8.1-4-power4-smp -
• linux-image-2.6.8.1-4-power3-smp -
• linux-image-2.6.8.1-4-powerpc-smp -
• linux-image-2.6.8.1-4-power3 -
• linux-image-2.6.8.1-4-686 -

In general, a standard system update will make all the necessary changes.

References

• CVE-2005-0001
• http://lists.netsys.com/pipermail/full-disclosure/2005-January/030660.html