CVE-2017-10204 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 low 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 takeover of Oracle VM VirtualBox. CVSS 3.0 Base Score 8.8 (Confidentiality, Integrity and Availability impacts). CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H).
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/13/2024
The CVE-2017-10204 vulnerability represents a critical security flaw within Oracle VM VirtualBox's Core component that significantly undermines the integrity and security posture of virtualized environments. This vulnerability affects Oracle VM VirtualBox versions prior to 5.1.24, making it particularly concerning for organizations that have not updated their virtualization infrastructure. The flaw exists within the virtualization layer itself, creating a potential attack vector that could be exploited by adversaries with minimal privileges within the host system where VirtualBox operates. The vulnerability's classification as easily exploitable indicates that attackers with basic access to the host infrastructure can leverage this weakness to gain substantial control over the virtualization environment.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and memory handling within the VirtualBox Core component, which processes virtual machine configurations and executes guest operating systems. Attackers can exploit this weakness through carefully crafted inputs that trigger memory corruption or execution flow manipulation within the VirtualBox process. The vulnerability's low privilege requirement means that even users with basic system access can potentially execute malicious code that leverages this flaw. This creates a particularly dangerous scenario where a compromised user account or limited access point could lead to complete system compromise of the virtualization infrastructure.
The operational impact of CVE-2017-10204 extends far beyond the immediate compromise of VirtualBox itself, potentially affecting entire virtualized environments and the applications running within them. Successful exploitation can result in complete takeover of the VirtualBox instance, allowing attackers to access all virtual machines managed by the vulnerable system. This compromise could lead to data exfiltration, lateral movement within the network, and further exploitation of other systems that rely on the compromised virtualization infrastructure. The CVSS 3.0 score of 8.8 reflects the high severity of this vulnerability, with impacts spanning confidentiality, integrity, and availability, indicating that attackers can potentially steal sensitive data, modify virtual machine configurations, and disrupt services through this flaw.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should prioritize immediate remediation through patching to Oracle VM VirtualBox version 5.1.24 or later, which addresses the underlying memory handling and input validation issues. Network segmentation and access controls should be strengthened to limit the potential impact of successful exploitation attempts, while monitoring systems should be configured to detect unusual activity in virtualization environments. The vulnerability's relationship to CWE-121 (Stack-based Buffer Overflow) and CWE-122 (Heap-based Buffer Overflow) demonstrates the fundamental memory corruption issues that enable this attack vector. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to techniques involving privilege escalation and execution through compromised virtualization components, potentially enabling adversaries to establish persistence within virtualized environments and move laterally across multiple systems. Organizations should also consider implementing additional security controls such as hypervisor hardening, regular vulnerability assessments, and incident response procedures specifically designed for virtualization environments to mitigate the risk of exploitation.