RHSA-2018:1668: Important: libvirt security update
The libvirt library contains a C API for managing and interacting with the virtualization capabilities of Linux and other operating systems. In addition, libvirt provides tools for remote management of virtualized systems.<br>Security Fix(es):<br><li> An industry-wide issue was found in the way many modern microprocessor designs have implemented speculative execution of Load & Store instructions (a commonly used performance optimization). It relies on the presence of a precisely-defined instruction sequence in the privileged code as well as the fact that memory read from address to which a recent memory write has occurred may see an older value and subsequently cause an update into the microprocessor's data cache even for speculatively executed instructions that never actually commit (retire). As a result, an unprivileged attacker could use this flaw to read privileged memory by conducting targeted cache side-channel attacks. (CVE-2018-3639)</li> Note: This is the libvirt side of the CVE-2018-3639 mitigation.<br>Red Hat would like to thank Ken Johnson (Microsoft Security Response Center) and Jann Horn (Google Project Zero) for reporting this issue.
Affected Software
Remediation
Event History
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the severity of RHSA-2018:1668?
The severity of RHSA-2018:1668 is classified as important.
How do I fix RHSA-2018:1668?
To fix RHSA-2018:1668, update libvirt and its related packages to the version 1.2.17-13.el7_2.8.
Which packages are affected by RHSA-2018:1668?
The affected packages include libvirt, libvirt-client, and various libvirt-daemon drivers.
Is there a workaround for RHSA-2018:1668?
There is no documented workaround for RHSA-2018:1668; applying the update is recommended.
What kind of systems are impacted by RHSA-2018:1668?
RHSA-2018:1668 impacts systems using the libvirt library for virtualization management.