Linux kernel maintainers Greg Kroah-Hartman and Ben Hutchings have released new versions of the Linux 4.14, 4.9, 4.4, 3.16, 3.18, and 3.12 LTS (Long Term Support) kernel series that apparently patch one of the two critical security flaws affecting most modern processors.
The Linux 4.14.11, 4.9.74, 4.4.109, 3.16.52, 3.18.91, and 3.2.97 kernels are now available to download from the kernel.org website, and users are urged to update their GNU/Linux distributions to these new versions if they run any of those kernel series immediately. Why update? Because they apparently patch a critical vulnerability called Meltdown.
As reported earlier, Meltdown and Spectre are two exploits that affect nearly all devices powered by modern processors (CPUs) released in the past 25 years. Yes, that means almost all mobile phones and personal computers. Meltdown can be exploited by an unprivileged attacker to maliciously obtain sensitive information stored in kernel memory.