USN-5727-2: Linux kernel (GCP) vulnerabilities

Publication date

18 November 2022

Overview

Several security issues were fixed in the Linux kernel.


Packages

  • linux-gcp - Linux kernel for Google Cloud Platform (GCP) systems
  • linux-gcp-4.15 - Linux kernel for Google Cloud Platform (GCP) systems

Details

It was discovered that a race condition existed in the instruction emulator
of the Linux kernel on Arm 64-bit systems. A local attacker could use this
to cause a denial of service (system crash). (CVE-2022-20422)

It was discovered that the KVM implementation in the Linux kernel did not
properly handle virtual CPUs without APICs in certain situations. A local
attacker could possibly use this to cause a denial of service (host system
crash). (CVE-2022-2153)

Hao Sun and Jiacheng Xu discovered that the NILFS file system
implementation in the Linux kernel contained a use-after-free
vulnerability. A local attacker could use this to cause a denial of service
(system crash) or possibly execute arbitrary code. (CVE-2022-2978)

Abhishek Shah discovered a race condition in the PF_KEYv2 implementation in
the Linux kernel....

It was discovered that a race condition existed in the instruction emulator
of the Linux kernel on Arm 64-bit systems. A local attacker could use this
to cause a denial of service (system crash). (CVE-2022-20422)

It was discovered that the KVM implementation in the Linux kernel did not
properly handle virtual CPUs without APICs in certain situations. A local
attacker could possibly use this to cause a denial of service (host system
crash). (CVE-2022-2153)

Hao Sun and Jiacheng Xu discovered that the NILFS file system
implementation in the Linux kernel contained a use-after-free
vulnerability. A local attacker could use this to cause a denial of service
(system crash) or possibly execute arbitrary code. (CVE-2022-2978)

Abhishek Shah discovered a race condition in the PF_KEYv2 implementation in
the Linux kernel. A local attacker could use this to cause a denial of
service (system crash) or possibly expose sensitive information (kernel
memory). (CVE-2022-3028)

It was discovered that the IDT 77252 ATM PCI device driver in the Linux
kernel did not properly remove any pending timers during device exit,
resulting in 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-2022-3635)

It was discovered that the Netlink Transformation (XFRM) subsystem in the
Linux kernel contained a reference counting error. A local attacker could
use this to cause a denial of service (system crash). (CVE-2022-36879)

Xingyuan Mo and Gengjia Chen discovered that the Promise SuperTrak EX
storage controller driver in the Linux kernel did not properly handle
certain structures. A local attacker could potentially use this to expose
sensitive information (kernel memory). (CVE-2022-40768)


Update instructions

After a standard system update you need to reboot your computer to make all the necessary changes.

Learn more about how to get the fixes.

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.

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

Ubuntu Release Package Version
18.04 bionic linux-image-4.15.0-1138-gcp –  4.15.0-1138.154
linux-image-gcp-lts-18.04 –  4.15.0.1138.154
16.04 xenial linux-image-gke –  4.15.0.1138.132  
linux-image-gcp –  4.15.0.1138.132  
linux-image-4.15.0-1138-gcp –  4.15.0-1138.154~16.04.1  

Reduce your security exposure

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