1. Ubuntu Security Notices
  2. USN-4678-1

USN-4678-1: Linux kernel vulnerabilities

Publication date

6 January 2021

Overview

Several security issues were fixed in the Linux kernel.

Releases

Packages

  • linux - Linux kernel
  • linux-aws - Linux kernel for Amazon Web Services (AWS) systems
  • linux-azure - Linux kernel for Microsoft Azure Cloud systems
  • linux-gcp - Linux kernel for Google Cloud Platform (GCP) systems
  • linux-hwe-5.8 - Linux hardware enablement (HWE) kernel
  • linux-kvm - Linux kernel for cloud environments
  • linux-oracle - Linux kernel for Oracle Cloud systems
  • linux-raspi - Linux kernel for Raspberry Pi (V8) systems

Details

It was discovered that the AMD Running Average Power Limit (RAPL) driver in
the Linux kernel did not properly restrict access to power data. A local
attacker could possibly use this to expose sensitive information.
(CVE-2020-12912)

Jann Horn discovered that the io_uring subsystem in the Linux kernel did
not properly perform reference counting in some situations. A local
attacker could use this to expose sensitive information or possibly
escalate privileges. (CVE-2020-29534)

It was discovered that the AMD Running Average Power Limit (RAPL) driver in
the Linux kernel did not properly restrict access to power data. A local
attacker could possibly use this to expose sensitive information.
(CVE-2020-12912)

Jann Horn discovered that the io_uring subsystem in the Linux kernel did
not properly perform reference counting in some situations. A local
attacker could use this to expose sensitive information or possibly
escalate privileges. (CVE-2020-29534)

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
20.10 groovy linux-image-5.8.0-1011-raspi –  5.8.0-1011.14
linux-image-5.8.0-1011-raspi-nolpae –  5.8.0-1011.14
linux-image-5.8.0-1014-kvm –  5.8.0-1014.15
linux-image-5.8.0-1014-oracle –  5.8.0-1014.14
linux-image-5.8.0-1015-gcp –  5.8.0-1015.15
linux-image-5.8.0-1016-azure –  5.8.0-1016.17
linux-image-5.8.0-1017-aws –  5.8.0-1017.18
linux-image-5.8.0-34-generic –  5.8.0-34.37
linux-image-5.8.0-34-generic-64k –  5.8.0-34.37
linux-image-5.8.0-34-generic-lpae –  5.8.0-34.37
linux-image-5.8.0-34-lowlatency –  5.8.0-34.37
linux-image-aws –  5.8.0.1017.19
linux-image-azure –  5.8.0.1016.16
linux-image-gcp –  5.8.0.1015.15
linux-image-generic –  5.8.0.34.39
linux-image-generic-64k –  5.8.0.34.39
linux-image-generic-lpae –  5.8.0.34.39
linux-image-gke –  5.8.0.1015.15
linux-image-kvm –  5.8.0.1014.16
linux-image-lowlatency –  5.8.0.34.39
linux-image-oracle –  5.8.0.1014.14
linux-image-raspi –  5.8.0.1011.14
linux-image-raspi-nolpae –  5.8.0.1011.14
linux-image-virtual –  5.8.0.34.39
20.04 focal linux-image-5.8.0-34-generic –  5.8.0-34.37~20.04.2
linux-image-5.8.0-34-generic-lpae –  5.8.0-34.37~20.04.2
linux-image-5.8.0-34-lowlatency –  5.8.0-34.37~20.04.2
linux-image-generic-hwe-20.04 –  5.8.0.34.37~20.04.20
linux-image-generic-lpae-hwe-20.04 –  5.8.0.34.37~20.04.20
linux-image-lowlatency-hwe-20.04 –  5.8.0.34.37~20.04.20
linux-image-virtual-hwe-20.04 –  5.8.0.34.37~20.04.20

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References

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