USN-1533-1: Linux kernel vulnerabilities

10 August 2012

Several security issues were fixed in the kernel.

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Details

An error was discovered in the Linux kernel's network TUN/TAP device
implementation. A local user with access to the TUN/TAP interface (which is
not available to unprivileged users until granted by a root user) could
exploit this flaw to crash the system or potential gain administrative
privileges. (CVE-2012-2136)

Ulrich Obergfell discovered an error in the Linux kernel's memory
management subsystem on 32 bit PAE systems with more than 4GB of memory
installed. A local unprivileged user could exploit this flaw to crash the
system. (CVE-2012-2373)

An error was discovered in the Linux kernel's memory subsystem (hugetlb).
An unprivileged local user could exploit this flaw to cause a denial of
service (crash the system). (CVE-2012-2390)

A flaw was discovered in the Linux kernel's epoll system call. An
unprivileged local user could use this flaw to crash the system.
(CVE-2012-3375)

Some errors where discovered in the Linux kernel's UDF file system, which
is used to mount some CD-ROMs and DVDs. An unprivileged local user could
use these flaws to crash the system. (CVE-2012-3400)

A flaw was discovered in the madvise feature of the Linux kernel's memory
subsystem. An unprivileged local use could exploit the flaw to cause a
denial of service (crash the system). (CVE-2012-3511)

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Update instructions

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

Ubuntu 11.10

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. 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.

References

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