USN-5979-1: Linux kernel (HWE) vulnerabilities

28 March 2023

Several security issues were fixed in the Linux kernel.

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Releases

Packages

Details

It was discovered that the KVM VMX implementation in the Linux kernel did
not properly handle indirect branch prediction isolation between L1 and L2
VMs. An attacker in a guest VM could use this to expose sensitive
information from the host OS or other guest VMs. (CVE-2022-2196)

It was discovered that a race condition existed in the Xen network backend
driver in the Linux kernel when handling dropped packets in certain
circumstances. An attacker could use this to cause a denial of service
(kernel deadlock). (CVE-2022-42328, CVE-2022-42329)

Gerald Lee discovered that the USB Gadget file system implementation in the
Linux kernel contained a race condition, leading to a use-after-free
vulnerability in some situations. A local attacker could use this to cause
a denial of service (system crash) or possibly execute arbitrary code.
(CVE-2022-4382)

José Oliveira and Rodrigo Branco discovered that the prctl syscall
implementation in the Linux kernel did not properly protect against
indirect branch prediction attacks in some situations. A local attacker
could possibly use this to expose sensitive information. (CVE-2023-0045)

It was discovered that a use-after-free vulnerability existed in the
Advanced Linux Sound Architecture (ALSA) subsystem. A local attacker could
use this to cause a denial of service (system crash). (CVE-2023-0266)

It was discovered that the io_uring subsystem in the Linux kernel contained
a use-after-free vulnerability. A local attacker could possibly use this to
cause a denial of service (system crash) or execute arbitrary code.
(CVE-2023-0469)

It was discovered that the CIFS network file system implementation in the
Linux kernel contained a user-after-free vulnerability. A local attacker
could possibly use this to cause a denial of service (system crash) or
execute arbitrary code. (CVE-2023-1195)

It was discovered that the RNDIS USB driver in the Linux kernel contained
an integer overflow vulnerability. A local attacker with physical access
could plug in a malicious USB device to cause a denial of service (system
crash) or possibly execute arbitrary code. (CVE-2023-23559)

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Update instructions

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

Ubuntu 22.04

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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