CVE-2010-3584 in Oracle
Summary
by MITRE
Unspecified vulnerability in the Oracle VM component in Oracle VM 2.2.1 allows local 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 storage of passwords and password hashes in cleartext in files with insecure permissions.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/24/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2010-3584 resides within Oracle VM 2.2.1's Oracle VM component, specifically affecting the ovs-agent service that manages virtual machine operations. This unspecified weakness represents a critical security flaw that could potentially compromise the entire virtualization environment by allowing local attackers to manipulate system resources and data integrity. The vulnerability's classification as unspecified indicates that the exact technical mechanism remains partially obscured, though it clearly relates to the ovs-agent process which serves as a crucial bridge between the virtual machine management layer and underlying hypervisor operations.
The technical flaw manifests through unknown vectors that operate within the Oracle VM framework's ovs-agent service, suggesting a fundamental weakness in how the system handles local privilege escalation or resource access controls. This vulnerability's potential to impact confidentiality, integrity, and availability simultaneously indicates a severe architectural flaw that could enable attackers to access sensitive data, modify critical system components, or disrupt service availability. The ovs-agent component typically manages network virtualization and hypervisor communication, making it a prime target for exploitation as it operates with elevated privileges and maintains access to critical system resources.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple privilege escalation, as it could enable attackers to gain unauthorized access to virtual machine configurations, guest operating systems, and underlying host resources. Local users with minimal privileges could potentially exploit this weakness to elevate their access level and compromise the entire virtualization infrastructure. The potential for data breaches, system corruption, and service disruption makes this vulnerability particularly dangerous in enterprise environments where Oracle VM systems typically host multiple virtual machines with varying security requirements and sensitive data workloads.
Security researchers have noted that third-party claims suggest this vulnerability may be related to insecure storage of passwords and password hashes in cleartext within files with inadequate permissions, which aligns with the broader category of credential exposure vulnerabilities. This specific aspect of the flaw would fall under CWE-312 (Cleartext Storage of Sensitive Information) and could potentially enable attackers to extract authentication credentials that would allow further compromise of the system. The combination of local access requirements with the potential for credential theft creates a dangerous attack surface that could lead to lateral movement within virtualized environments and compromise multiple systems.
Mitigation strategies should focus on immediate patching of Oracle VM 2.2.1 installations, implementing proper file permission controls on sensitive configuration files, and conducting thorough security audits of all virtualization components. Organizations should also consider implementing network segmentation to limit local access privileges, establishing robust monitoring for suspicious ovs-agent activity, and regularly reviewing file permissions on virtualization-related configuration files. The vulnerability's classification under ATT&CK technique T1068 (Local Privilege Escalation) indicates that defensive measures should include endpoint protection, privilege monitoring, and regular vulnerability assessments of virtualization infrastructure components. Additionally, implementing principle of least privilege for ovs-agent processes and ensuring proper file access controls would significantly reduce the attack surface for this and similar vulnerabilities.