Ubuntu 16.04 LTS / 18.04 LTS : Linux kernel (Azure) vulnerabilities (USN-3777-3) (Spectre)

high Nessus Plugin ID 118322

Language:

New! Plugin Severity Now Using CVSS v3

The calculated severity for Plugins has been updated to use CVSS v3 by default. Plugins that do not have a CVSS v3 score will fall back to CVSS v2 for calculating severity. Severity display preferences can be toggled in the settings dropdown.

Synopsis

The remote Ubuntu host is missing one or more security-related patches.

Description

USN-3777-1 fixed vulnerabilities in the Linux kernel for Ubuntu 18.04 %LTS. This update provides the corresponding updates for the Linux kernel for Azure Cloud systems.

Jann Horn discovered that the vmacache subsystem did not properly handle sequence number overflows, leading to a use-after-free vulnerability. A local attacker could use this to cause a denial of service (system crash) or execute arbitrary code. (CVE-2018-17182)

It was discovered that the paravirtualization implementation in the Linux kernel did not properly handle some indirect calls, reducing the effectiveness of Spectre v2 mitigations for paravirtual guests. A local attacker could use this to expose sensitive information.
(CVE-2018-15594)

It was discovered that microprocessors utilizing speculative execution and prediction of return addresses via Return Stack Buffer (RSB) may allow unauthorized memory reads via sidechannel attacks. An attacker could use this to expose sensitive information. (CVE-2018-15572)

Jann Horn discovered that microprocessors utilizing speculative execution and branch prediction may allow unauthorized memory reads via sidechannel attacks. This flaw is known as Spectre. A local attacker could use this to expose sensitive information, including kernel memory. (CVE-2017-5715)

It was discovered that a stack-based buffer overflow existed in the iSCSI target implementation of the Linux kernel. A remote attacker could use this to cause a denial of service (system crash).
(CVE-2018-14633)

Jann Horn and Ken Johnson discovered that microprocessors utilizing speculative execution of a memory read may allow unauthorized memory reads via a sidechannel attack. This flaw is known as Spectre Variant 4. A local attacker could use this to expose sensitive information, including kernel memory. (CVE-2018-3639)

It was discovered that a memory leak existed in the IRDA subsystem of the Linux kernel. A local attacker could use this to cause a denial of service (kernel memory exhaustion). (CVE-2018-6554)

It was discovered that a use-after-free vulnerability existed in the IRDA implementation in the Linux kernel. A local attacker could use this to cause a denial of service (system crash) or possibly execute arbitrary code. (CVE-2018-6555).

Note that Tenable Network Security has extracted the preceding description block directly from the Ubuntu security advisory. Tenable has attempted to automatically clean and format it as much as possible without introducing additional issues.

Solution

Update the affected linux-image-4.15-azure and / or linux-image-azure packages.

See Also

https://usn.ubuntu.com/3777-3/

Plugin Details

Severity: High

ID: 118322

File Name: ubuntu_USN-3777-3.nasl

Version: 1.10

Type: local

Agent: unix

Published: 10/23/2018

Updated: 9/17/2020

Dependencies: ssh_get_info.nasl, linux_alt_patch_detect.nasl

Risk Information

VPR

Risk Factor: High

Score: 8.1

CVSS v2

Risk Factor: High

Base Score: 8.3

Temporal Score: 7.2

Vector: AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:C

Temporal Vector: E:H/RL:OF/RC:C

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: E:H/RL:O/RC:C

Vulnerability Information

CPE: p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-image-4.15-azure, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-image-azure, cpe:/o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:16.04, cpe:/o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:18.04:-: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: 10/23/2018

Vulnerability Publication Date: 1/4/2018

Reference Information

CVE: CVE-2017-5715, CVE-2018-14633, CVE-2018-15572, CVE-2018-15594, CVE-2018-17182, CVE-2018-3639, CVE-2018-6554, CVE-2018-6555

USN: 3777-3