1. Ubuntu Security Notices
  2. USN-4915-1

USN-4915-1: Linux kernel (OEM) vulnerabilities

Publication date

15 April 2021

Overview

Several security issues were fixed in the Linux kernel.

Releases

Packages

Details

It was discovered that the overlayfs implementation in the Linux kernel did
not properly validate the application of file system capabilities with
respect to user namespaces. A local attacker could use this to gain
elevated privileges. (CVE-2021-3493)

Vincent Dehors discovered that the shiftfs file system in the Ubuntu Linux
kernel did not properly handle faults in copy_from_user() when passing
through ioctls to an underlying file system. A local attacker could use
this to cause a denial of service (memory exhaustion) or execute arbitrary
code. (CVE-2021-3492)

It was discovered that the overlayfs implementation in the Linux kernel did
not properly validate the application of file system capabilities with
respect to user namespaces. A local attacker could use this to gain
elevated privileges. (CVE-2021-3493)

Vincent Dehors discovered that the shiftfs file system in the Ubuntu Linux
kernel did not properly handle faults in copy_from_user() when passing
through ioctls to an underlying file system. A local attacker could use
this to cause a denial of service (memory exhaustion) or execute arbitrary
code. (CVE-2021-3492)

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
20.04 focal linux-image-5.6.0-1054-oem –  5.6.0-1054.58
linux-image-oem-20.04 –  5.6.0.1054.50

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References

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