USN-2546-1: Linux kernel vulnerabilities

24 March 2015

Several security issues were fixed in the kernel.

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Details

A flaw was discovered in the automatic loading of modules in the crypto
subsystem of the Linux kernel. A local user could exploit this flaw to load
installed kernel modules, increasing the attack surface and potentially
using this to gain administrative privileges. (CVE-2013-7421)

A flaw was discovered in the crypto subsystem when screening module names
for automatic module loading if the name contained a valid crypto module
name, eg. vfat(aes). A local user could exploit this flaw to load installed
kernel modules, increasing the attack surface and potentially using this to
gain administrative privileges. (CVE-2014-9644)

Sun Baoliang discovered a use after free flaw in the Linux kernel's SCTP
(Stream Control Transmission Protocol) subsystem during INIT collisions. A
remote attacker could exploit this flaw to cause a denial of service
(system crash) or potentially escalate their privileges on the system.
(CVE-2015-1421)

Marcelo Leitner discovered a flaw in the Linux kernel's routing of packets
to too many different dsts/too fast. A remote attacker on the same subnet can exploit this
flaw to cause a denial of service (system crash). (CVE-2015-1465)

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Update instructions

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

Ubuntu 14.10

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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