Ubuntu fixes kernel issue with Specter Variant 2 on most popular architectures

During the last months the Ubuntu kernel has not been very fine and that has caused various bugs and bugs to appear in the distribution.

However, the Ubuntu development team is still working and This week it has launched a new kernel that improves and corrects some of the vulnerabilities that have appeared in recent months. A kernel that will already be in many Ubuntu computers and that I personally would not recommend updating if the operating system is really doing well.

The latest version of the Ubuntu kernel fixes the Specter Variant 2 vulnerability, a serious vulnerability that had been fixed a few days ago but only for 64-bit platforms. This week's solution affects all platforms for which Ubuntu is, which makes it more secure if possible, but it may also be that the compilation is wrong or has not been tested enough to not give any errors.

In addition to fixing this bug, kernel developers have fixed known and recently appeared problems with communication protocols such as IPv4 or the DCCP Protocol. The name of the update that we will find in our Ubuntu will be Linux-image 4.13.0.36.38 in Ubuntu 17.10, linux-image 4.4.0-116.140 in Ubuntu 16.04 LTS, linux-image 4.13.0-36.40 ~ 16.04.1 in Ubuntu 16.04 .3 LTS with Artful HWE kernel, linux-image 4.4.0-116.140 ~ 14.04.1 on Ubuntu 14.04.5 LTS with Xenial HWE kernel and linux-image 3.2.0.133.148 on Ubuntu 12.04 ESM.

As I said at the beginning of this article, personally I would try to retain this update for as long as I can, an unusual recommendation in articles or information related to computer security, but if our Ubuntu is really good for us, updating to this kernel may mean that other vulnerabilities are activated and the computer is rendered useless. Do not forget that in December 2017 the download of the latest Ubuntu ISO image was suspended for security reasons. Thus, either we test the kernel update in a virtual machine or we risk having major problems, in any case, thanks to Free Software and Ubuntu, the solution is in our hands and we are in third parties.