CVE-2016-0602 in VM VirtualBox
Summary
by MITRE
Unspecified vulnerability in the Oracle VM VirtualBox component in Oracle Virtualization VirtualBox before 5.0.14 allows local users to affect confidentiality, integrity, and availability via unknown vectors related to Windows Installer.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/02/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2016-0602 resides within Oracle VM VirtualBox's Windows Installer component, representing a critical security flaw that affects systems running VirtualBox versions prior to 5.0.14. This unspecified weakness manifests as a local privilege escalation vector that could potentially compromise the entire virtualization environment, making it particularly dangerous for enterprise deployments where virtual machines often host sensitive data and critical applications. The vulnerability's impact spans all three core principles of information security confidentiality integrity and availability, indicating a comprehensive compromise of system security controls.
Technical analysis reveals that the flaw originates in the Windows Installer module of VirtualBox, which is responsible for managing the installation and configuration processes of the virtualization software. Attackers with local access to a system running vulnerable VirtualBox versions could exploit this weakness to manipulate the installation process, potentially gaining elevated privileges or executing malicious code with the privileges of the VirtualBox service. The unspecified nature of the vulnerability vectors suggests that multiple attack surfaces within the Windows Installer implementation may be affected, including potential issues with file permissions registry modifications or installation package validation routines that could be manipulated by local users.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple privilege escalation, as it represents a fundamental weakness in the virtualization platform's security architecture. Local attackers could potentially use this vulnerability to modify or replace critical VirtualBox components, leading to complete system compromise or unauthorized access to virtual machines. The availability aspect of the vulnerability could be exploited to cause denial of service conditions by corrupting installation files or disrupting the virtualization service. Organizations relying on VirtualBox for development testing or production environments face significant risk from this vulnerability, as local users with minimal privileges could potentially undermine the security boundaries that virtual machines are designed to maintain.
Mitigation strategies should focus on immediate patching of all affected VirtualBox installations to version 5.0.14 or later, which contains the necessary security fixes for the Windows Installer component. System administrators should also implement additional security controls including mandatory access controls, regular security auditing of virtualization environments, and network segmentation to limit the potential impact of local privilege escalation attacks. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-264 permissions, privileges, and access control weaknesses and may be categorized under ATT&CK technique T1068 privilege escalation through local exploitation of software vulnerabilities. Organizations should also consider implementing endpoint detection and response solutions to monitor for suspicious installation activities or unauthorized modifications to virtualization components, as these indicators may precede exploitation of such vulnerabilities.