[QSA-0502261]
Linux kernel vulnerabilities

Qlustar Security Advisory 0502261

May 2nd, 2026

Summary:

The system could crash or be made to run programs as an administrator.

Package(s)       : linux-image-ql-generic,
                   qlustar-module-core-jammy-amd64-13.4,
                   qlustar-module-core-noble-amd64-14.1
Qlustar releases : 13, 14
Affected versions: All versions prior to this update
Vulnerability    : privilege escalation/denial of service
Problem type     : local
Qlustar-specific : no
CVE Id(s)        : Not documented

A number of vulnerabilities and bugs have been discovered in the 6.12.x Linux kernel series since the last Qlustar 14 release based on 6.12.80. They may lead to a denial of service or privilege escalation.

The most recent qlustar kernel 6.12.85-ql-generic-14-9 also contains a fix for the recently discovered CopyFail (CVE-2026-31431) vulnerability. In order to prevent future security issues with the affected crypto kernel user API, we completely dropped support for it again in Qlustar 14. It is/was not included in the Qlustar 13 kernel, hence Qlustar 13 was not affected by the bug. No programs being essential for Qlustar need this API and it was only added to Qlustar 14 to be more compatible with other large distros.

Please check the following web pages that contain details of the fixes in each release after 6.12.80 up to the current Qlustar kernel 6.12.85:

Linux kernel 6.12.85
Linux kernel 6.12.84
Linux kernel 6.12.83
Linux kernel 6.12.82
Linux kernel 6.12.81

A number of vulnerabilities and bugs have been discovered in the 5.15.x Linux kernel series since the last Qlustar 13.0 release based on 5.15.202. They may lead to a denial of service or privilege escalation. Please check the following web pages that contain details of the fixes in each release after 5.15.202 up to the current Qlustar kernel 5.15.204:

Linux kernel 5.15.204
Linux kernel 5.15.203

Update instructions:

The problem can be corrected by updating your system to the following or more recent package versions:

For Qlustar 14

linux-image-ql-generic                     6.12.85-ql-generic-14-9
qlustar-module-core-noble-amd64-14.1       14.1.2-b589f1622

For Qlustar 13

linux-image-ql-generic                     5.15.204-ql-generic-13.0-27
qlustar-module-core-jammy-amd64-13.4       13.4.2-b588f1623

Special Update instructions:

In addition to the steps described in the general Qlustar Update Instructions these updates require the following:

• Spack migration With the release of the HPC Core Stack 02/26, spack was also updated to version 1.1.1. This update requires a migration of the Spack database to version 8. To migrate, after the update is done, login on a cluster node as a user with Spack admin rights (usually user softadm or anybody in the group softadm) and execute

  # spack reindex
  

  Note that after this, older Spack versions will no longer be able to read the database. However, a backup is created in case a revert is needed.