14 DAY TRIAL // Canonical released today a new Linux kernel security update for several of its supported Ubuntu Linux releases to address a security issue affecting 64-Bit PowerPC systems.
Affecting the Ubuntu 19.04 (Disco Dingo), Ubuntu 18.10 (Cosmic Cuttlefish), and Ubuntu 18.04 LTS (Bionic Beaver) operating systems, the new Linux kernel security patch fixes a vulnerability (CVE-2019-12817) on 64-bit PowerPC (ppc64el) systems, which could allow a local attacker to access memory contents or corrupt the memory of other processes.
"It was discovered that the Linux kernel did not properly separate certain memory mappings when creating new userspace processes on 64-bit Power (ppc64el) systems. A local attacker could use this to access memory contents or cause memory corruption of other processes on the system," reads the security advisory.
Users are urged to update their systems immediately
If you are using the Ubuntu 19.04 (Disco Dingo), Ubuntu 18.10 (Cosmic Cuttlefish) or Ubuntu 18.04 LTS (Bionic Beaver) operating systems on a 64-bit PowerPC (ppc64el) system, you are urged to update the kernel to linux-image-5.0.0-19.20 on Ubuntu 19.04, linux-image-4.18.0-24.25 on Ubuntu 18.10, and linux-image-4.18.0-24.25~18.04.1 on Ubuntu 18.04.1 LTS or later.
To update your system, please follow the instructions provided by Canonical at https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Security/Upgrades. Please keep in mind to reboot your system after applying the new kernel version for the security issue to be correctly patched. Also, you may need to recompile and reinstall any third-party kernel modules you might have installed.
If you didn't manually uninstalled the linux-generic, linux-generic-lts-RELEASE, linux-virtual, and linux-powerpc standard kernel metapackages, the system update mechanism will automatically take care of your third-party kernel modules. And remember, always keep your operating system and installed apps up-to-date at all times.