Ubuntu 18.04 LTS : Linux kernel (HWE) vulnerabilities (USN-3872-1)

high Nessus Plugin ID 121470

Synopsis

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

Description

The remote Ubuntu 18.04 LTS host has a package installed that is affected by multiple vulnerabilities as referenced in the USN-3872-1 advisory.

It was discovered that a race condition existed in the vsock address family implementation of the Linux kernel that could lead to a use-after-free condition. A local attacker in a guest virtual machine could use this to expose sensitive information (host machine kernel memory). (CVE-2018-14625)

Cfir Cohen discovered that a use-after-free vulnerability existed in the KVM implementation of the Linux kernel, when handling interrupts in environments where nested virtualization is in use (nested KVM virtualization is not enabled by default in Ubuntu kernels). A local attacker in a guest VM could possibly use this to gain administrative privileges in a host machine. (CVE-2018-16882)

Wei Wu discovered that the KVM implementation in the Linux kernel did not properly ensure that ioapics were initialized. A local attacker could use this to cause a denial of service (system crash).
(CVE-2018-19407)

It was discovered that the crypto subsystem of the Linux kernel leaked uninitialized memory to user space in some situations. A local attacker could use this to expose sensitive information (kernel memory).
(CVE-2018-19854)

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-3872-1

Plugin Details

Severity: High

ID: 121470

File Name: ubuntu_USN-3872-1.nasl

Version: 1.11

Type: local

Agent: unix

Published: 1/30/2019

Updated: 8/27/2024

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

Risk Information

VPR

Risk Factor: Medium

Score: 6.5

CVSS v2

Risk Factor: High

Base Score: 7.2

Temporal Score: 5.3

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

CVSS Score Source: CVE-2018-16882

CVSS v3

Risk Factor: High

Base Score: 8.8

Temporal Score: 7.7

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

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

Vulnerability Information

CPE: p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-image-4.18.0-14-generic-lpae, cpe:/o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:18.04:-:lts, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-image-4.18.0-14-lowlatency, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-image-4.18.0-14-generic, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-image-4.18.0-14-snapdragon

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

Exploit Ease: No known exploits are available

Patch Publication Date: 1/29/2019

Vulnerability Publication Date: 9/10/2018

Reference Information

CVE: CVE-2018-14625, CVE-2018-16882, CVE-2018-19407, CVE-2018-19854

USN: 3872-1