In the Linux kernel 4.15.x through 4.19.x before 4.19.2, map_write() in kernel/user_namespace.c allows privilege escalation because it mishandles nested user namespaces with more than 5 UID or GID ranges. A user who has CAP_SYS_ADMIN in an affected user namespace can bypass access controls on resources outside the namespace, as demonstrated by reading /etc/shadow. This occurs because an ID transformation takes place properly for the namespaced-to-kernel direction but not for the kernel-to-namespaced direction.

Affected: Ubuntu:18.04:LTS: linux-aws

Jann Horn discovered that the Linux kernel mishandles mapping UID or GID ranges inside nested user namespaces in some situations. A local attacker could use this to bypass access controls on resources outside the namespace. (CVE-2018-18955)

Philipp Wendler discovered that the overlayfs implementation in the Linux kernel did not properly verify the directory contents permissions from within a unprivileged user namespace. A local attacker could use this to expose sensitive information (protected file names). (CVE-2018-6559)