Security Bulletin: IBM has released the following fixes for AIX and VIOS in response to Speculative Store Bypass (SSB), also known as Variant 4.

Summary

IBM has released the following fixes for AIX and VIOS in response to CVE-2018-3639.

Vulnerability Details

CVEID: CVE-2018-3639

Affected Products and Versions

AIX 5.3, 6.1, 7.1, 7.2
VIOS 2.2.x

The vulnerabilities in the following filesets are being addressed:

key_fileset = aix

Fileset Lower Level Upper Level KEY
---------------------------------------------------------
bos.mp64 5.3.12.0 5.3.12.10 key_w_fs
bos.mp64 6.1.9.0 6.1.9.316 key_w_fs
bos.mp64 7.1.4.0 7.1.4.34 key_w_fs
bos.mp64 7.1.5.0 7.1.5.16 key_w_fs
bos.mp64 7.2.0.0 7.2.0.6 key_w_fs
bos.mp64 7.2.1.0 7.2.1.5 key_w_fs
bos.mp64 7.2.2.0 7.2.2.16 key_w_fs

To find out whether the affected filesets are installed on your systems, refer to the lslpp command found in AIX user’s guide.

Example: lslpp -L | grep -i bos.mp64

Note: AIX or VIOS users of all fileset levels should continue to monitor their My Notifications alerts and the IBM PSIRT Blog for additional information about these vulnerabilities:

- My Notifications
<http://www.ibm.com/support/mynotifications&gt;

- IBM PSIRT Blog - Potential Impact on Processors in the Power Family
<https://www.ibm.com/blogs/psirt/potential-impact-processors-power-family/&gt;

Remediation/Fixes

A. APARS

IBM has assigned the following APARs to this problem:

AIX Level APAR Availability SP KEY
------------------------------------------------
5.3.12 IJ05826 N/A N/A key_w_apar
6.1.9 IJ05824 ** SP12 key_w_apar
7.1.4 IJ05823 ** SP7 key_w_apar
7.1.5 IJ05822 ** SP3 key_w_apar
7.2.0 IJ05821 ** N/A key_w_apar
7.2.1 IJ05820 ** SP5 key_w_apar
7.2.2 IJ05818 ** SP3 key_w_apar

VIOS Level APAR Availability SP KEY
------------------------------------------------
2.2.4 IJ05824 ** N/A key_w_apar
2.2.5 IJ05824 ** N/A key_w_apar
2.2.6 IJ05824 ** 2.2.6.22 key_w_apar

The relevant APARs will also be included in 7.1.5 and 7.2.2 SPs with a build id of 1831 or later.

Subscribe to the APARs here:

<http://www.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=isg1IJ05818&gt;
<http://www.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=isg1IJ05820&gt;
<http://www.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=isg1IJ05821&gt;
<http://www.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=isg1IJ05822&gt;
<http://www.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=isg1IJ05823&gt;
<http://www.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=isg1IJ05824&gt;

<https://www.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=isg1IJ05818&gt;
<https://www.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=isg1IJ05820&gt;
<https://www.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=isg1IJ05821&gt;
<https://www.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=isg1IJ05822&gt;
<https://www.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=isg1IJ05823&gt;
<https://www.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=isg1IJ05824&gt;

By subscribing, you will receive periodic email alerting you to the status of the APAR, and a link to download the fix once it becomes available.

B. FIXES

AIX and VIOS fixes are available.

An LPAR system reboot is required to complete the iFix installation, or Live Update may be used on AIX 7.2 to avoid a reboot.

The AIX/VIOS fixes can be downloaded via ftp or http from:

<ftp://aix.software.ibm.com/aix/efixes/security/variant4_fix.tar&gt;
<http://aix.software.ibm.com/aix/efixes/security/variant4_fix.tar&gt;
<https://aix.software.ibm.com/aix/efixes/security/variant4_fix.tar&gt;

The link above is to a tar file containing this signed advisory, fix packages, and OpenSSL signatures for each package. The fixes below include prerequisite checking. This will enforce the correct mapping between the fixes and AIX Technology Levels.

AIX Level Interim Fix (*.Z) KEY
----------------------------------------------
5.3.12.9 IJ05826m9b.180427.epkg.Z key_w_fix
6.1.9.9 IJ05824m9a.180501.epkg.Z key_w_fix
6.1.9.10 IJ05824mAa.180501.epkg.Z key_w_fix
6.1.9.11 IJ05824sBa.180426.epkg.Z key_w_fix
7.1.4.4 IJ05823m4a.180501.epkg.Z key_w_fix
7.1.4.5 IJ05823m5a.180430.epkg.Z key_w_fix
7.1.4.6 IJ05823m6a.180426.epkg.Z key_w_fix
7.1.5.0 IJ05822m1a.180430.epkg.Z key_w_fix
7.1.5.1 IJ05822m1a.180430.epkg.Z key_w_fix
7.1.5.2 IJ05822s2a.180426.epkg.Z key_w_fix
7.2.0.4 IJ05821m4a.180430.epkg.Z key_w_fix
7.2.0.5 IJ05821m5a.180430.epkg.Z key_w_fix
7.2.0.6 IJ05821m6a.180424.epkg.Z key_w_fix
7.2.1.2 IJ05820m2a.180430.epkg.Z key_w_fix
7.2.1.3 IJ05820m3a.180430.epkg.Z key_w_fix
7.2.1.4 IJ05820m4a.180423.epkg.Z key_w_fix
7.2.2.0 IJ05818m1a.180423.epkg.Z key_w_fix
7.2.2.1 IJ05818m1a.180423.epkg.Z key_w_fix
7.2.2.2 IJ05818s2a.180420.epkg.Z key_w_fix

Please note that the above table refers to AIX TL/SP level as opposed to fileset level, i.e., 7.2.2.1 is AIX 7200-02-01.

The above fixes are cumulative and include the previously issued Spectre/Meltdown security fixes:
http://aix.software.ibm.com/aix/efixes/security/spectre_meltdown_advisory.asc

The provided iFixes for 7.1.5.2 and 7.2.2.2 are not required on SPs with a build id of 1831 or later. Please run “oslevel -s” to view installed build id.

Please reference the Affected Products and Version section above for help with checking installed fileset levels.

VIOS Level Interim Fix (*.Z) KEY
-----------------------------------------------
2.2.4.40 IJ05824m9a.180501.epkg.Z key_w_fix
2.2.4.50 IJ05824m9b.180502.epkg.Z key_w_fix
2.2.4.60 IJ05824sBa.180426.epkg.Z key_w_fix
2.2.5.20 IJ05824m9a.180501.epkg.Z key_w_fix
2.2.5.30 IJ05824m9b.180502.epkg.Z key_w_fix
2.2.5.40 IJ05824sBa.180426.epkg.Z key_w_fix
2.2.6.0 IJ05824mAa.180501.epkg.Z key_w_fix
2.2.6.10 IJ05824mAa.180501.epkg.Z key_w_fix
2.2.6.20 IJ05824sBa.180426.epkg.Z key_w_fix
2.2.6.21 IJ05824sBa.180426.epkg.Z key_w_fix

The above fixes are cumulative and include the previously issued Spectre/Meltdown security fixes:
http://aix.software.ibm.com/aix/efixes/security/spectre_meltdown_advisory.asc

To extract the fixes from the tar file:

tar xvf variant4_fix.tar
cd variant4_fix

Verify you have retrieved the fixes intact:

The checksums below were generated using the “openssl dgst -sha256 file” command as the following:

openssl dgst -sha256 filename KEY
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
fc10d3fcc4b372e54e4f6a88c33a317d7137db4713def21536735bc926c78c68 IJ05818m1a.180423.epkg.Z key_w_csum
da5f493bd51051336c7528ba8667c8dd9272db4ba06ee5ef9f943c0a2a39baad IJ05818s2a.180420.epkg.Z key_w_csum
7ecd8c0ffed9005d771aeaf8309160d55b46c91ff6e9d9cce5516bbb0fc8ef58 IJ05820m2a.180430.epkg.Z key_w_csum
4e7598e7bc623d850fe1b50503739b0b3cadac08c45fdbe2037d7b4a812bbe08 IJ05820m3a.180430.epkg.Z key_w_csum
80d4263c0e231c18a752b943f522d71516db850466f820149cd81a0c53b68352 IJ05820m4a.180423.epkg.Z key_w_csum
1e4ab00e0fd1a7bb4a38cfad30bd021edd0d8106bed9636f62fabbca70d3be65 IJ05821m4a.180430.epkg.Z key_w_csum
6b5c8a209573f4916cd22f03481b0962e904e24ee993db0e531c68761abb74a3 IJ05821m5a.180430.epkg.Z key_w_csum
28b2171be5442994394b39410c2db05569223fc3fcff0c552c3b8ddf210f7107 IJ05821m6a.180424.epkg.Z key_w_csum
42bef3d5dd9d228ab79bd75725de5ce3dc3ef2a28894fa9ca4f47dab3191858e IJ05822m1a.180430.epkg.Z key_w_csum
5e6be49f5563f5a89d4ecc5ea5c52e06ac9f7c7749b9b217ba3abf34bb4a49b8 IJ05822s2a.180426.epkg.Z key_w_csum
686bd91a387df1043c38ddc0dfe1409223145ad8f8d335d52e0341c0bcb91de1 IJ05823m4a.180501.epkg.Z key_w_csum
79fce1a11262f192c869b67742eb47f92e354f0c7b25c191043b46be442f4ad1 IJ05823m5a.180430.epkg.Z key_w_csum
dc013e5f65263db7bd2cb35efa29dffacfe886996d072b459f51d22cdf646a2f IJ05823m6a.180426.epkg.Z key_w_csum
5cd8fc8e3fe0bc2f2deab5956a13e2045580af9d98b56bbe606f4f87403b5ffd IJ05824m9a.180501.epkg.Z key_w_csum
1b6f28af977841e1f2f08dcfa26edb20974d4ea0b51d2f08c1108331a2c8b625 IJ05824m9b.180502.epkg.Z key_w_csum
95ac10d417ad9a4017b5b9057b0937189721f260c94bb71969e4fabd33f5a539 IJ05824mAa.180501.epkg.Z key_w_csum
4fa9372d4137265fef88aeb5af36dc1745467cc9f35deb01e6c850ea67b06b66 IJ05824sBa.180426.epkg.Z key_w_csum
4b4dc4961f3a27cd6774ce37bf980ded29cbd962031014e067e117ce0b474c53 IJ05826m9b.180427.epkg.Z key_w_csum

These sums should match exactly. The OpenSSL signatures in the tar file and on this advisory can also be used to verify the integrity of the fixes. If the sums or signatures cannot be confirmed, contact IBM Support at <http://ibm.com/support/&gt; and describe the discrepancy.

openssl dgst -sha1 -verify [pubkey_file] -signature [advisory_file].sig [advisory_file]

openssl dgst -sha1 -verify [pubkey_file] -signature [ifix_file].sig [ifix_file]

Published advisory OpenSSL signature file location:

<http://aix.software.ibm.com/aix/efixes/security/variant4_advisory.asc.sig&gt;
<https://aix.software.ibm.com/aix/efixes/security/variant4_advisory.asc.sig&gt;
<ftp://aix.software.ibm.com/aix/efixes/security/variant4_advisory.asc.sig&gt;

C. FIX AND INTERIM FIX INSTALLATION

An LPAR system reboot is required to complete the iFix installation, or Live Update may be used on AIX 7.2 to avoid a reboot.

If possible, it is recommended that a mksysb backup of the system be created. Verify it is both bootable and readable before proceeding.

To preview a fix installation:

installp -a -d fix_name -p all # where fix_name is the name of the
# fix package being previewed.

To install a fix package:

installp -a -d fix_name -X all # where fix_name is the name of the
# fix package being installed.

Interim fixes have had limited functional and regression testing but not the full regression testing that takes place for Service Packs; however, IBM does fully support them.

Interim fix management documentation can be found at:

<http://www14.software.ibm.com/webapp/set2/sas/f/aix.efixmgmt/home.html&gt;

To preview an interim fix installation:

emgr -e ipkg_name -p # where ipkg_name is the name of the
# interim fix package being previewed.

To install an interim fix package:

emgr -e ipkg_name -X # where ipkg_name is the name of the
# interim fix package being installed.

Workarounds and Mitigations

None.