Ubuntu 16.04 ESM : Linux kernel vulnerabilities (USN-6221-1)

high Nessus Plugin ID 178649

Synopsis

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

Description

The remote Ubuntu 16.04 ESM host has a package installed that is affected by multiple vulnerabilities as referenced in the USN-6221-1 advisory.

- A race condition accessing file object in the Linux kernel OverlayFS subsystem was found in the way users do rename in specific way with OverlayFS. A local user could use this flaw to crash the system.
(CVE-2021-20321)

- A race problem was seen in the vt_k_ioctl in drivers/tty/vt/vt_ioctl.c in the Linux kernel, which may cause an out of bounds read in vt as the write access to vc_mode is not protected by lock-in vt_ioctl (KDSETMDE). The highest threat from this vulnerability is to data confidentiality. (CVE-2021-3753)

- A use-after-free flaw was found in fs/ext4/namei.c:dx_insert_block() in the Linux kernel's filesystem sub- component. This flaw allows a local attacker with a user privilege to cause a denial of service.
(CVE-2022-1184)

- Non-transparent sharing of return predictor targets between contexts in some Intel(R) Processors may allow an authorized user to potentially enable information disclosure via local access. (CVE-2022-26373)

- Intel microprocessor generations 6 to 8 are affected by a new Spectre variant that is able to bypass their retpoline mitigation in the kernel to leak arbitrary data. An attacker with unprivileged user access can hijack return instructions to achieve arbitrary speculative code execution under certain microarchitecture-dependent conditions. (CVE-2022-29901)

- A use-after-free flaw was found in ndlc_remove in drivers/nfc/st-nci/ndlc.c in the Linux Kernel. This flaw could allow an attacker to crash the system due to a race problem. (CVE-2023-1990)

- A use after free vulnerability was found in prepare_to_relocate in fs/btrfs/relocation.c in btrfs in the Linux Kernel. This possible flaw can be triggered by calling btrfs_ioctl_balance() before calling btrfs_ioctl_defrag(). (CVE-2023-3111)

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-6221-1

Plugin Details

Severity: High

ID: 178649

File Name: ubuntu_USN-6221-1.nasl

Version: 1.1

Type: local

Agent: unix

Published: 7/20/2023

Updated: 1/9/2024

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

Risk Information

VPR

Risk Factor: Medium

Score: 6.7

CVSS v2

Risk Factor: Low

Base Score: 1.9

Temporal Score: 1.5

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

CVSS Score Source: CVE-2022-29901

CVSS v3

Risk Factor: High

Base Score: 7.8

Temporal Score: 7

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:P/RL:O/RC:C

CVSS Score Source: CVE-2023-3111

Vulnerability Information

CPE: cpe:/o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:16.04:-:esm, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-image-4.4.0-1121-kvm, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-image-4.4.0-1158-aws, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-image-4.4.0-242-generic, p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:linux-image-4.4.0-242-lowlatency

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: 7/12/2023

Vulnerability Publication Date: 9/30/2021

Reference Information

CVE: CVE-2021-20321, CVE-2021-3753, CVE-2022-1184, CVE-2022-26373, CVE-2022-29901, CVE-2023-1990, CVE-2023-3111

USN: 6221-1