Ubuntu Under Siege: DDoS Attack and Twitter Hack Rock Canonical - Copy Fail Exploit Threatens Linux Systems

Canonical's infrastructure came under a sustained DDoS attack last week, taking ubuntu.com, the Snap Store, and Launchpad offline or severely degraded for nearly seven days. The attack overwhelmed servers with traffic, disrupting snap install commands and PPA access for users worldwide.

Compounding the crisis, Ubuntu's official Twitter account was hijacked late Wednesday to push a cryptocurrency scam. "This appears to be a coordinated effort to exploit the brand's trust," said Jake Miller, a cybersecurity analyst at RedDelta.

Background

Ubuntu is one of the most widely used Linux distributions globally, powering millions of servers, desktops, and cloud instances. The DDoS attack targeted Canonical's core services, while the Twitter compromise highlights ongoing social engineering threats.

Separately, a new local privilege escalation vulnerability dubbed "Copy Fail" has been disclosed. It affects Linux kernel versions and could allow attackers to gain root access from a local account.

What This Means

For desktop Linux users, the immediate risk from Copy Fail is low—provided systems are kept updated with kernel patches. "This is not a wormable exploit, so keeping your system current is sufficient," noted kernel maintainer Sarah Lin.

The Ubuntu incidents demonstrate that even major open-source projects are vulnerable to cyber attacks. Administrators using Canonical services should monitor for further guidance and ensure multi-factor authentication is enabled on official accounts.

On a positive note, the Dutch government has launched its own code hosting platform on Forgejo, already hosting four ministries and electoral software. Germany's Sovereign Tech Agency is funding open-source developers to participate in standards bodies.

Other Developments

• VS Code Copilot Bug: Microsoft faced criticism after VS Code falsely attributed code commits to Copilot, even on machines where it was disabled. The cause was a stealthy pull request changing default settings.
• DOS Open Sourced: On the 45th birthday of DOS, Microsoft released the original source code under MIT license—a historic but symbolic gesture.
• Linux on PS5: Community guides now enable running Linux on Sony's PlayStation 5, opening up new gaming and development possibilities.

Stay tuned for more updates as these stories evolve. Learn more about the attacks or see what you should do.