Ubuntu 16.04 LTS : Linux kernel (GCP) vulnerabilities (USN-3507-2)

high Nessus Plugin ID 105101

Synopsis

The remote Ubuntu host is missing one or more security updates.

Description

The remote Ubuntu 16.04 LTS host has a package installed that is affected by multiple vulnerabilities as referenced in the USN-3507-2 advisory.

Mohamed Ghannam discovered that a use-after-free vulnerability existed in the Netlink subsystem (XFRM) in the Linux kernel. A local attacker could use this to cause a denial of service (system crash) or possibly execute arbitrary code. (CVE-2017-16939)

It was discovered that the Linux kernel did not properly handle copy-on- write of transparent huge pages.
A local attacker could use this to cause a denial of service (application crashes) or possibly gain administrative privileges. (CVE-2017-1000405)

Fan Wu, Haoran Qiu, and Shixiong Zhao discovered that the associative array implementation in the Linux kernel sometimes did not properly handle adding a new entry. A local attacker could use this to cause a denial of service (system crash). (CVE-2017-12193)

Eric Biggers discovered that the key management subsystem in the Linux kernel did not properly restrict adding a key that already exists but is uninstantiated. A local attacker could use this to cause a denial of service (system crash) or possibly execute arbitrary code. (CVE-2017-15299)

It was discovered that a null pointer dereference error existed in the PowerPC KVM implementation in the Linux kernel. A local attacker could use this to cause a denial of service (system crash).
(CVE-2017-15306)

Eric Biggers discovered a race condition in the key management subsystem of the Linux kernel around keys in a negative state. A local attacker could use this to cause a denial of service (system crash) or possibly execute arbitrary code. (CVE-2017-15951)

Tenable has extracted the preceding description block directly from the Ubuntu security advisory.

Note that Nessus has not tested for these issues but has instead relied only on the application's self-reported version number.

Solution

Update the affected kernel package.

See Also

https://ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-3507-2

Plugin Details

Severity: High

ID: 105101

File Name: ubuntu_USN-3507-2.nasl

Version: 3.14

Type: local

Agent: unix

Published: 12/8/2017

Updated: 8/27/2024

Supported Sensors: Agentless Assessment, Continuous Assessment, Frictionless Assessment Agent, Frictionless Assessment AWS, Frictionless Assessment Azure, Nessus Agent, Nessus

Risk Information

VPR

Risk Factor: High

Score: 8.9

CVSS v2

Risk Factor: High

Base Score: 7.2

Temporal Score: 6.3

Vector: CVSS2#AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

CVSS Score Source: CVE-2017-16939

CVSS v3

Risk Factor: High

Base Score: 7.8

Temporal Score: 7.5

Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Temporal Vector: CVSS:3.0/E:H/RL:O/RC:C

Vulnerability Information

CPE: p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-image-4.13.0-1002-gcp, cpe:/o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:16.04:-:lts

Required KB Items: Host/cpu, Host/Ubuntu, Host/Ubuntu/release, Host/Debian/dpkg-l

Exploit Available: true

Exploit Ease: Exploits are available

Patch Publication Date: 12/7/2017

Vulnerability Publication Date: 10/14/2017

Reference Information

CVE: CVE-2017-1000405, CVE-2017-12193, CVE-2017-15299, CVE-2017-15306, CVE-2017-15951, CVE-2017-16939

USN: 3507-2