USN-3718-1: Linux kernel regression

Releases

• Ubuntu 18.04 ESM

Packages

• linux - Linux kernel
• linux-aws - Linux kernel for Amazon Web Services (AWS) systems
• linux-azure - Linux kernel for Microsoft Azure Cloud systems
• linux-gcp - Linux kernel for Google Cloud Platform (GCP) systems
• linux-kvm - Linux kernel for cloud environments
• linux-oem - Linux kernel for OEM processors

Details

USN-3695-1 fixed vulnerabilities in the Linux kernel for Ubuntu 18.04
LTS. Unfortunately, the fix for CVE-2018-1108 introduced a regression
where insufficient early entropy prevented services from starting,
leading in some situations to a failure to boot, This update addresses
the issue.

We apologize for the inconvenience.

Original advisory details:

Jann Horn discovered that the Linux kernel's implementation of random
seed data reported that it was in a ready state before it had gathered
sufficient entropy. An attacker could use this to expose sensitive
information. (CVE-2018-1108)

Wen Xu discovered that the ext4 file system implementation in the Linux
kernel did not properly initialize the crc32c checksum driver. A local
attacker could use this to cause a denial of service (system crash).
(CVE-2018-1094)

It was discovered that the cdrom driver in the Linux kernel contained an
incorrect bounds check. A local attacker could use this to expose sensitive
information (kernel memory). (CVE-2018-10940)

Wen Xu discovered that the ext4 file system implementation in the Linux
kernel did not properly validate xattr sizes. A local attacker could use
this to cause a denial of service (system crash). (CVE-2018-1095)

Jann Horn discovered that the 32 bit adjtimex() syscall implementation for
64 bit Linux kernels did not properly initialize memory returned to user
space in some situations. A local attacker could use this to expose
sensitive information (kernel memory). (CVE-2018-11508)

It was discovered that an information leak vulnerability existed in the
floppy driver in the Linux kernel. A local attacker could use this to
expose sensitive information (kernel memory). (CVE-2018-7755)

Update instructions

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

Ubuntu 18.04

• linux-image-4.15.0-1014-gcp - 4.15.0-1014.14
• linux-image-4.15.0-1016-aws - 4.15.0-1016.16
• linux-image-4.15.0-1016-kvm - 4.15.0-1016.16
• linux-image-4.15.0-29-generic - 4.15.0-29.31
• linux-image-4.15.0-29-generic-lpae - 4.15.0-29.31
• linux-image-4.15.0-29-lowlatency - 4.15.0-29.31
• linux-image-4.15.0-29-snapdragon - 4.15.0-29.31

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

• https://launchpad.net/bugs/1779827
• https://usn.ubuntu.com/usn/usn-3695-1