CVE-2017-10187 in VM VirtualBox
Summary
by MITRE
Vulnerability in the Oracle VM VirtualBox component of Oracle Virtualization (subcomponent: Core). The supported version that is affected is Prior to 5.1.24. Easily exploitable vulnerability allows high privileged attacker with logon to the infrastructure where Oracle VM VirtualBox executes to compromise Oracle VM VirtualBox. While the vulnerability is in Oracle VM VirtualBox, attacks may significantly impact additional products. Successful attacks of this vulnerability can result in unauthorized update, insert or delete access to some of Oracle VM VirtualBox accessible data and unauthorized ability to cause a partial denial of service (partial DOS) of Oracle VM VirtualBox. CVSS 3.0 Base Score 4.6 (Integrity and Availability impacts). CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:L/A:L).
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/04/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-10187 resides within Oracle VM VirtualBox's Core subcomponent, representing a critical security flaw that affects versions prior to 5.1.24. This vulnerability operates within the realm of virtualization security and demonstrates how flaws in hypervisor implementations can create cascading effects across entire virtualized environments. The affected Oracle VM VirtualBox component serves as the foundational core responsible for managing virtual machine operations, making it a prime target for attackers seeking to establish persistent access within virtualized infrastructures.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from insufficient access controls and privilege validation mechanisms within the VirtualBox Core component. Attackers with high-privileged access to the host infrastructure where VirtualBox executes can exploit this weakness to compromise the virtualization platform itself. The CVSS 3.0 scoring of 4.6 indicates a moderate severity level that reflects the combination of integrity and availability impacts, with the attack vector requiring local access but low complexity. This vulnerability's classification under CWE categories related to privilege escalation and access control violations demonstrates its fundamental nature as an authorization bypass mechanism.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond the immediate compromise of VirtualBox itself, potentially affecting additional Oracle products that rely on the virtualization infrastructure. Successful exploitation can lead to unauthorized modification of data within VirtualBox's accessible datasets, enabling attackers to insert, update, or delete critical virtual machine configuration information. Additionally, the vulnerability enables partial denial of service conditions that can disrupt virtual machine operations and compromise the availability of virtualized resources. The security implications are particularly concerning given that the attack requires only high-privileged access to the host system, which may already be compromised through other attack vectors.
Organizations should prioritize immediate patching of affected VirtualBox installations to version 5.1.24 or later, as this represents the first fixed release addressing the vulnerability. The mitigation strategy should include comprehensive monitoring of host system access logs and implementation of principle of least privilege controls to minimize the risk of high-privileged accounts being compromised. Security teams should also conduct thorough assessments of their virtualization environments to identify any potential exploitation attempts and implement network segmentation to limit lateral movement capabilities. The vulnerability's characteristics align with ATT&CK techniques involving privilege escalation and defense evasion, making it essential for security operations to maintain visibility into host system activities and virtual machine management processes.