CVE-2010-3583 in Oracle
Summary
by MITRE
Unspecified vulnerability in the OracleVM component in Oracle VM 2.2.1 allows remote authenticated users to affect confidentiality, integrity, and availability via unknown vectors related to ovs-agent. NOTE: the previous information was obtained from the October 2010 CPU. Oracle has not commented on claims from a third party researcher that this is related to the exposure of multiple unspecified functions through XML-RPC that allow execution of arbitrary OS commands.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/24/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2010-3583 resides within Oracle VM 2.2.1's OracleVM component, specifically affecting the ovs-agent service that manages virtual machine operations. This issue represents a significant security weakness in virtualization infrastructure that could potentially allow attackers to compromise the entire virtualized environment. The vulnerability's classification as unspecified means that detailed technical mechanisms were not initially disclosed, creating uncertainty around the precise attack vectors and exploitation methods available to malicious actors. The disclosure through Oracle's October 2010 CPU (Critical Patch Update) indicates this was recognized as a critical security concern requiring immediate attention from system administrators and security teams.
The technical flaw appears to be rooted in the XML-RPC interface implementation within the ovs-agent component, where multiple unspecified functions were exposed without proper access controls or input validation. This exposure creates a dangerous attack surface where authenticated users can potentially leverage these functions to execute arbitrary operating system commands on the underlying host system. The vulnerability's relationship to XML-RPC functionality aligns with common patterns found in CVE-2005-1442 and similar remote command execution vulnerabilities, where web service interfaces lack proper sanitization of user inputs. The ovs-agent service, designed to manage Open vSwitch operations in virtualized environments, becomes a critical attack point when its XML-RPC interface exposes privileged functions without adequate authentication or authorization checks.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability represents a severe threat to virtualization security posture and could enable attackers to gain complete control over the host system running Oracle VM 2.2.1. The potential compromise of confidentiality, integrity, and availability means that attackers could access sensitive data, modify system configurations, disrupt services, and potentially use the compromised host as a launching point for attacks against other systems within the network. The fact that this vulnerability affects remote authenticated users indicates that even legitimate users with valid credentials could be exploited to gain elevated privileges, creating a particularly dangerous scenario for environments where user access is not strictly controlled. This vulnerability could enable attackers to escalate privileges from regular user accounts to root or administrative privileges, potentially leading to complete system compromise and data breaches.
The security implications extend beyond immediate exploitation as this vulnerability could enable attackers to establish persistent access to virtualized environments, potentially compromising multiple virtual machines running on the same host. The exposure of multiple unspecified functions through XML-RPC suggests a broader architectural flaw in the component's design, where proper security boundaries were not established between different functional areas of the service. Organizations using Oracle VM 2.2.1 should consider this vulnerability as a critical priority for remediation, particularly in environments where multiple users have access to the virtualization management interfaces. The vulnerability's timing in October 2010 places it in the context of broader security concerns surrounding virtualization platforms and highlights the importance of maintaining up-to-date security patches for virtualization infrastructure. Mitigation efforts should focus on implementing network segmentation, limiting access to XML-RPC interfaces, and applying available patches from Oracle to address the underlying security flaws in the ovs-agent component. This vulnerability also demonstrates the importance of security assessments for virtualization platforms and highlights the need for proper input validation and access control mechanisms in distributed system components.
The vulnerability classification aligns with CWE-20 (Improper Input Validation) and CWE-77 (Command Injection) categories, indicating weaknesses in input sanitization and command execution mechanisms. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to T1059 (Command and Scripting Interpreter) and T1068 (Exploitation for Privilege Escalation), as it allows for arbitrary command execution and potential privilege escalation. Organizations should implement comprehensive monitoring for unusual XML-RPC activity and establish proper access controls to prevent unauthorized users from accessing the vulnerable service interfaces. The vulnerability serves as a reminder of the critical importance of secure coding practices in virtualization management components and the necessity of thorough security testing for all interfaces exposed to network access.