[gentoo-announce] [ GLSA 201612-14 ] util-linux: Arbitrary code execution

[news 28]

Welcome to the Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter, Issue 490 for the week November

28 - December 4, 2016.

 

== Links to UWN ==

 

* Wiki page: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuWeeklyNewsletter/Issue490

 

== In This Issue ==

 

* Taking a stand against unofficial Ubuntu images

* Ubuntu Stats

* LoCo News

* LoCo Events

* Zygmunt Krynicki: Ubuntu Core Gadget Snaps

* Harald Sitter: Snapping KDE Applications

* Ubuntu Phone News

* Canonical News

* In The Blogosphere

* Other Articles of Interest

* Featured Audio and Video

* Weekly Ubuntu Development Team Meetings

* Upcoming Meetings and Events

* Updates and Security for 12.04, 14.04, 16.04 and 16.10

* And much more!

 

== General Community News ==

 

=== Taking a stand against unofficial Ubuntu images ===

 

Mark Shuttleworth writes how Ubuntu is a major component in the cloud

with AWS, Azure, Google, Rackspace, SoftLayer and more. Canonical

however is in dispute with an unnamed EU cloud provider shipping

"insecure and broken" images, where attempts to modify their behavior

have failed. The post discusses how Canonical is working to defend the

integrity of the Ubuntu name by working with these companies and through

legal means to make sure users are confident that images are secure when

they have the Ubuntu name.

 

http://insights.ubuntu.com/2016/12/01/taking-a-stand-against-unstable-risky-unofficial-ubuntu-images/

 

== Ubuntu Stats ==

 

=== Bug Stats ===

 

* Open (127705) +74 over last week

* Critical (409) +3 over last week

* Unconfirmed (63281) +90 over last week

 

As always, the Bug Squad needs more help. If you want to get started,

please see https://wiki.ubuntu.com/BugSquad

 

=== Ask Ubuntu Top 5 Questions this week ===

 

==== Most Active Questions ====

 

* How to change MD5 of a file

http://askubuntu.com/questions/856385/how-to-change-md5-of-a-file

* Find line with digits

http://askubuntu.com/questions/856156/find-line-with-digits

* How to check which package created a user?

http://askubuntu.com/questions/857224/how-to-check-which-package-created-a-user

* How do I switch from Unity 8 in Ubuntu 16.10?

http://askubuntu.com/questions/854715/how-do-i-switch-from-unity-8-in-ubuntu-16-10

* Installing ubuntu 16.04 LTS about swap

http://askubuntu.com/questions/856928/installing-ubuntu-16-04-lts-about-swap

 

==== Top Voted New Questions ====

 

* My Ubuntu 16.04 goes into a state of limbo when suspended

http://askubuntu.com/questions/856936/

* How to check which package created a user?

http://askubuntu.com/questions/857224/

* How do I switch from Unity 8 in Ubuntu 16.10?

http://askubuntu.com/questions/854715/

* How to change MD5 of a file http://askubuntu.com/questions/856385/

* Installing ubuntu 16.04 LTS about swap

http://askubuntu.com/questions/856928/

 

People Contributing the best questions and answers this week: George

(http://askubuntu.com/users/459561/george), Serg

(http://askubuntu.com/users/295286/serg), ThatGuy

(http://askubuntu.com/users/606721/thatguy), kapcom01

(http://askubuntu.com/users/119210/kapcom01) and UTF-8

(http://askubuntu.com/users/195768/utf-8)

 

Ask (and answer!) questions at http://askubuntu.com

 

== LoCo News ==

 

=== Ohio LinuxFest 2016 ===

 

Elizabeth K. Joseph writes about the recent Ohio LinuxFest 2016 and

gatherings with her fellow Ubuntu-focused attendees. Elizabeth also

tells us of the various talks and presentations she went to including

OpenNMS, Devs from Mars, Ops are from Venus, Hacking bureaucracy and

more. She shares a number of links to slides including her own talk on

OpenStack deployment scenarios.

 

http://princessleia.com/journal/2016/11/ohio-linuxfest-2016/

 

=== UbuCon Europe - a sure sign of community strength ===

 

Daniel Holbach tells us of the recent UbuCon Europe which was attended

by 170 people from 20 countries in Essen Germany on 18-20 November 2016.

For those that weren't there he shares some photos of the event and

highlights some of the talks and workshops that took place. Daniels

advises that next year's UbuCon Europe will be in Paris.

 

http://insights.ubuntu.com/2016/12/01/ubucon-europe-a-sure-sign-of-community-strength/

 

== LoCo Events ==

 

The following LoCo team events are currently scheduled in the next two

weeks:

 

* [PARIS] Pause Ubuntu, LoCoTeam ubuntu-fr:

http://loco.ubuntu.com/events/ubuntu-fr/3483-[paris]-pause-ubuntu/

* Ubuntu 16.10 Release Party ( -at -) Taipei, Ubuntu Taiwan Local Community:

http://loco.ubuntu.com/events/ubuntu-tw/3468-ubuntu-1610-release-party- ( -at -) -taipei/

* Charla/Taller: Ubuntu para tecnicos que vienen de otro SO

(Windows/Mac) - 1/2, Ubuntu Colombia:

http://loco.ubuntu.com/events/ubuntu-co/3479-charla/taller:-ubuntu-para-tecnicos-que-vienen-de-otro-so-(windows/mac)---1/2/

* Fiesta de Ubuntu, Ubuntu LoCo Team Costa Rica:

http://loco.ubuntu.com/events/ubuntu-cr/3481-fiesta-de-ubuntu/

* Encontro Ubuntu-pt ( -at -) Sintra, Ubuntu Portugal:

http://loco.ubuntu.com/events/ubuntu-pt/3423-encontro-ubuntu-pt- ( -at -) -sintra/

* Ubuntu 16.10 Release Party and Offline Meeting in Japan, Ubuntu

Japanese Team:

http://loco.ubuntu.com/events/japaneseteam/3478-ubuntu-1610-release-party-and-offline-meeting-in-japan/

* AZLOCO Install-fest/Linux Workshop, Arizona LoCo Team:

http://loco.ubuntu.com/events/ubuntu-arizona/3459-azloco-install-fest/linux-workshop/

 

Looking beyond the next two weeks? Visit the LoCo Team Portal to browse

upcoming events around the world:

 

http://loco.ubuntu.com/events/

 

== The Planet ==

 

=== Zygmunt Krynicki: Ubuntu Core Gadget Snaps ===

 

Zygmunt Krynicki tells us about gadget snaps which are not very familiar

to those of us on desktops but are found on all snap core devices such

as IoT. He says that these snaps can be found at github.com/snapcore

with the pattern 'devicename-gadget', and are mirrored on Launchpad. The

wiki link included in the article provides further information.

 

http://www.zygoon.pl/2016/12/ubuntu-core-gadget-snaps.html

 

=== Harald Sitter: Snapping KDE Applications ===

 

Harald Sitter shares a video on Snapping KDE Applications, but also

writes for those who prefer to read. He reminds us of KDE's 20 year

history which along with the framework model can be a challenge. Harald

says that with Snapcraft, Flatpak et al. packaged-apps in these formats

can be large and to solve this problem KDE Frameworks 5 now uses content

snaps which reduced a KCalc app snap from 70MiB to 32KiB. He concludes

his article with a "howto" using KAlgebra as an example with includes

full yaml code and the necessary snap commands.

 

https://apachelog.wordpress.com/2016/12/02/snapping-kde-applications/

 

== Ubuntu Phone News ==

 

=== Fairphone 2 & Ubuntu ===

 

Marcos Costales notes that he has seen recent advances of Ubuntu Touch

on a Fairphone 2 thanks to the UBPorts project. He shows us some

photographs of the phone and points out some of its best features.

Article is in Spanish.

 

http://thinkonbytes.blogspot.com/2016/12/fairphone-2-ubuntu.html

 

== Canonical News ==

 

* Ubuntu SDK meets snapcraft -

http://insights.ubuntu.com/2016/11/28/ubuntu-sdk-meets-snapcraft/

* Mir is not only about Unity8 -

http://insights.ubuntu.com/2016/11/28/mir-is-not-only-about-unity8/

* Canonical and AWS partner to deliver world-class support in the

cloud -

http://insights.ubuntu.com/2016/11/28/canonical-and-aws-partner-to-deliver-world-class-support-in-the-cloud/

* Docker and Canonical Partner on CS Docker Engine for Ubuntu users -

http://insights.ubuntu.com/2016/11/30/docker-and-canonical-partner-on-cs-docker-engine-for-ubuntu-users/

* Competition: Build a seasonal snap on your Raspberry Pi! -

http://insights.ubuntu.com/2016/12/01/competition-build-a-seasonal-snap-on-your-raspberry-pi/

* Canonical's Distribution of Kubernetes Reduces Operational Friction

-

http://insights.ubuntu.com/2016/12/01/canonicals-distribution-of-kubernetes-reduces-operational-friction/

 

== In The Blogosphere ==

 

=== You Can Now Package Your Apps as Snaps Without Bundling Their

Dependencies ===

 

Marius Nestor, writing for Softpedia, informs us of the recent

availability of the ubuntu-app-platform snap which allows developers to

package their apps as Snaps without the need to build all of the

dependencies. He says that an updated Snapcraft version will be made

available soon and quotes Canonical's Olivier Tilloy as saying that the

size of the webbrowser-app snap has been reduced from 136MB to 22MB.

 

http://news.softpedia.com/news/you-can-now-package-your-apps-as-snaps-without-bundling-their-dependencies-510569.shtml

 

=== This Is The Release Date for Ubuntu 17.04 'Zesty Zapus' ===

 

Joey-Elijah Sneddon of OMG! Ubuntu! informs us that the release date for

Ubuntu 17.04 has been set to be April 13, 2017. He lists the key dates

of the Ubuntu 17.04 development schedule and reminds us that the release

will be supported for nine months.

 

http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2016/11/release-date-ubuntu-17-04-zesty-zapus

 

=== Ubuntu Prepping Its 16.04 "Rolling HWE Kernel" ===

 

Michael Larabel, writing for Phoronix writes that starting with Ubuntu

16.04.2, the LTS (Long term Support) releases are switching to a concept

of a "rolling HWE kernel." He quotes Leann Ogasawara as saying:

"Essentially, consumers of an HWE kernel will automatically be upgraded

to the next HWE kernel offered in subsequent point releases until

reaching the final HWE Kernel offered in 16.04.5." Michael points out

that this is not a true rolling kernel but an automatic upgrade with

future LTS point releases.

 

http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=Ubuntu-Rolling-HWE-Kernels

 

Marius Nestor of Softpedia wrote a similar article:

 

* Ubuntu 16.04.2 LTS Lands January 19, 2017, with Ubuntu 16.10's Linux

4.8 Kernel -

http://news.softpedia.com/news/ubuntu-16-04-2-lts-lands-january-19-2017-with-ubuntu-16-10-s-linux-4-8-kernel-510572.shtml

 

=== Canonical Releases New Kernel Live Patch Security Update for Ubuntu

16.04 LTS ===

 

Marius Nestor of Softpedia writes that Canonical has announced the

availability of the second kernel live patch security update to Ubuntu

16.04. He lists the security issues that have been addressed and says

that Canonical have recommended all Ubuntu 16.04 users to update their

systems as soon as possible and also points out that there is no need to

reboot systems after upgrading.

 

http://news.softpedia.com/news/canonical-releases-new-kernel-live-patch-security-update-for-ubuntu-16-04-lts-510635.shtml

 

=== Canonical Takes Stand Against Unofficial Ubuntu Images, Reportedly

Risky & Insecure ===

 

Michael Larabel of Phoronix reports on Canonical's dispute with a

European cloud provider who have been "publishing insecure, broken

images of Ubuntu" for its cloud customers. He gives us an idea as to the

changes that have been made and speculates on the identity of the cloud

provider.

 

http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=Ubuntu-Unofficial-Images

 

== Other Articles of Interest ==

 

* Debian Project News - November 28th, 2016 -

https://www.debian.org/News/weekly/2016/04/

 

== Featured Audio and Video ==

 

=== S09E39.2 - Le CrossOver Number 2 - Ubuntu Podcast ===

 

It's Le CrossOver #2! Marius Quabeck, Rudy, Martin Wimpress and Max

Kristen are connected and speaking to your brain.

 

Four complete strangers make a podcast during UbuCon Europe 2016 at the

Unperfekthaus in Essen, Germany.

 

We discuss some news:

* Nintendo's new NES Classics Edition console can run a custom build

of Ubuntu

* Low Graphics Mode in Unity 7

* Microsoft Fortifies Commitment to Open Source, Becomes Linux

Foundation Platinum Member

 

We discuss whats been happening at UbuCon Europe 2016

* We nearly have an awesome interview with Nathan Haines

 

We share a Command Line Lurve:

* magic-device-tool - A simple tool to handle installing/replacing

mobile operating systems

 

There is a full video playlist for UbuCon Europe 2016

 

That's all for Le CrossOver #2! If there's a topic you'd like us to