CVE-2017-10209 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 unauthorized read access to a subset 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 5.2 (Confidentiality and Availability impacts). CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:N/A:L).
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/04/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-10209 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 broader context of virtualization security where the integrity of the hypervisor directly impacts the security posture of all virtual machines hosted on that platform. The affected Oracle VM VirtualBox component serves as the foundational core responsible for managing virtual machine execution and resource allocation, making it a prime target for attackers seeking to compromise virtualized environments. The vulnerability's classification as easily exploitable indicates that minimal prerequisites are required for successful exploitation, with only local logon access to the VirtualBox execution environment being necessary for an attacker to leverage this flaw.
The technical nature of this vulnerability manifests as a security weakness that permits low-privileged attackers to gain unauthorized access to specific data within the VirtualBox environment while simultaneously enabling them to execute partial denial of service attacks. This dual impact capability stems from the flaw's ability to bypass normal access controls and potentially corrupt critical system resources. The vulnerability operates at the core level of VirtualBox's architecture, suggesting that it likely involves memory management issues, privilege escalation mechanisms, or data access control bypasses that allow an attacker to read sensitive configuration data or disrupt service availability. The CVSS 3.0 scoring of 5.2 reflects the moderate severity of the impact, with confidentiality and availability being the primary affected metrics, indicating that while the vulnerability doesn't provide complete system compromise, it does enable significant unauthorized access and service disruption capabilities.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond the immediate VirtualBox environment, as attacks leveraging this flaw can potentially affect additional Oracle products and virtualized systems that depend on VirtualBox functionality. This cascading effect demonstrates how hypervisor vulnerabilities can create broader security implications across enterprise infrastructures where virtualization is extensively deployed. Organizations utilizing VirtualBox for development, testing, or production environments face significant risk from this vulnerability, as it allows attackers to access virtual machine configurations, potentially exposing sensitive data stored in virtual environments. The partial denial of service capability means that attackers can disrupt virtual machine operations without completely crashing the system, making detection more challenging and potentially allowing for prolonged unauthorized access periods. This vulnerability particularly affects environments where VirtualBox is used for hosting multiple virtual machines, as compromise of one instance could potentially impact the entire virtualization infrastructure.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2017-10209 primarily focus on immediate patch deployment, upgrading to Oracle VM VirtualBox version 5.1.24 or later, which contains the necessary security fixes to address the identified flaw. Organizations should prioritize this update across all systems where VirtualBox is deployed, particularly in environments where multiple virtual machines are hosted and where security controls may be less stringent. Network segmentation and access control measures should be implemented to limit local logon privileges to VirtualBox execution environments, reducing the attack surface for potential exploitation. Additionally, monitoring systems should be configured to detect unusual access patterns or service disruptions that might indicate exploitation attempts. The vulnerability's classification under CWE (Common Weakness Enumeration) categories related to privilege escalation and information disclosure highlights the need for comprehensive security assessments of virtualization environments. Security teams should also consider implementing the ATT&CK framework's reconnaissance and initial access phases to better understand how adversaries might leverage such vulnerabilities, particularly focusing on the techniques involving local persistence and credential access that could be employed in exploiting this flaw. Regular vulnerability assessments and penetration testing should be conducted to identify similar weaknesses in virtualization infrastructure and ensure that security controls remain effective against evolving threats.