Kernel Vulnerability in Ubuntu 8.04 LTS. Upgrade Now!

(softpedia) -- A security vulnerability was discovered yesterday in the Linux kernel packages of the Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Edubuntu and Xubuntu 8.04 distributions. This kernel vulnerability could allow a local attacker to cause a system crash, leading to a DoS (Denial of Service). The security flaw can be fixed if you upgrade your system to the following packages:

• linux-image-2.6.24-18-386 2.6.24-18.32
• linux-image-2.6.24-18-generic 2.6.24-18.32
• linux-image-2.6.24-18-hppa32 2.6.24-18.32
• linux-image-2.6.24-18-hppa64 2.6.24-18.32
• linux-image-2.6.24-18-itanium 2.6.24-18.32
• linux-image-2.6.24-18-lpia 2.6.24-18.32
• linux-image-2.6.24-18-lpiacompat 2.6.24-18.32
• linux-image-2.6.24-18-mckinley 2.6.24-18.32
• linux-image-2.6.24-18-openvz 2.6.24-18.32
• linux-image-2.6.24-18-powerpc 2.6.24-18.32
• linux-image-2.6.24-18-powerpc-smp 2.6.24-18.32
• linux-image-2.6.24-18-powerpc64-smp 2.6.24-18.32
• linux-image-2.6.24-18-rt 2.6.24-18.32
• linux-image-2.6.24-18-server 2.6.24-18.32
• linux-image-2.6.24-18-sparc64 2.6.24-18.32
• linux-image-2.6.24-18-sparc64-smp 2.6.24-18.32
• linux-image-2.6.24-18-virtual 2.6.24-18.32
• linux-image-2.6.24-18-xen 2.6.24-18.32

Don't forget to reboot your computer after this upgrade!

ATTENTION: Due to an unavoidable ABI change, the kernel packages have a new version number, which will force you to reinstall and recompile all third-party kernel modules you might have installed. For example, after the upgrade to the above version of your kernel package, a software such as VirtualBox will not work anymore, therefore you must recompile the kernel module by issuing a specific command in the terminal. Moreover, if you use the linux-restricted-modules package, you have to update it as well to get modules which work with the new Linux kernel version.