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USN-4916-2: Linux kernel regression

22 April 2021

USN-4916-1 introduced a regression in the Linux kernel.

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Details

USN-4916-1 fixed vulnerabilities in the Linux kernel. Unfortunately,
the fix for CVE-2021-3493 introduced a memory leak in some situations.
This update fixes the problem.

We apologize for the inconvenience.

Original advisory details:

It was discovered that the overlayfs implementation in the Linux kernel did
not properly validate the application of file system capabilities with
respect to user namespaces. A local attacker could use this to gain
elevated privileges. (CVE-2021-3493)

Piotr Krysiuk discovered that the BPF JIT compiler for x86 in the Linux
kernel did not properly validate computation of branch displacements in
some situations. A local attacker could use this to cause a denial of
service (system crash) or possibly execute arbitrary code. (CVE-2021-29154)

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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 20.04
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

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