USN-3167-1: Linux kernel vulnerabilities

11 January 2017

Several security issues were fixed in the kernel.

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Packages

Details

Dmitry Vyukov discovered that the KVM implementation in the Linux
kernel did not properly initialize the Code Segment (CS) in certain
error cases. A local attacker could use this to expose sensitive
information (kernel memory).

Baozeng Ding discovered a race condition that could lead to a use-after-
free in the Advanced Linux Sound Architecture (ALSA) subsystem of the Linux
kernel. A local attacker could use this to cause a denial of service
(system crash). (CVE-2016-9794)

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Update instructions

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

Ubuntu 12.04

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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