CVE-2017-10239 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 ability to cause a hang or frequently repeatable crash (complete DOS) of Oracle VM VirtualBox as well as unauthorized update, insert or delete access to some of Oracle VM VirtualBox accessible data and unauthorized read access to a subset of Oracle VM VirtualBox accessible data. CVSS 3.0 Base Score 7.3 (Confidentiality, Integrity and Availability impacts). CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:H).
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/03/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-10239 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 software can create substantial attack surfaces for sophisticated adversaries. The vulnerability's classification as easily exploitable indicates that attackers with high-privileged access to the host infrastructure where VirtualBox operates can leverage this weakness to compromise the entire virtualization environment. The attack vector requires local access with elevated privileges, positioning this vulnerability within the context of privilege escalation attacks that target virtualization infrastructure. According to the CVSS 3.0 scoring system, this vulnerability carries a base score of 7.3, reflecting the combination of confidentiality, integrity, and availability impacts that make it particularly concerning for enterprise environments relying on virtualization technologies.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and memory handling within VirtualBox's core components, creating opportunities for attackers to manipulate the virtualization layer through carefully crafted inputs. The flaw manifests as a potential for complete denial of service conditions, where attackers can cause the virtualization software to hang or crash repeatedly, effectively rendering the virtualization environment unusable. This operational impact extends beyond simple service disruption to include unauthorized modifications to the virtualization environment's data structures, allowing attackers to perform unauthorized updates, inserts, or deletions of critical virtual machine configurations and associated data. The vulnerability's ability to enable unauthorized read access to sensitive data within the virtualization environment creates additional concerns for information disclosure, potentially exposing virtual machine configurations, guest operating system details, and other confidential information stored within the virtualization layer.
The security implications of CVE-2017-10239 extend beyond the immediate VirtualBox environment, as this vulnerability can impact multiple products within the Oracle ecosystem that rely on virtualization technologies. This cascading effect demonstrates how virtualization infrastructure vulnerabilities can create widespread security implications across enterprise environments where multiple systems depend on the same underlying virtualization platform. The vulnerability's classification as a local privilege escalation issue means that attackers who have already gained access to the host system with elevated privileges can use this flaw to further compromise the virtualization environment. The CVSS vector (AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:H) clearly indicates that the attack requires local access with high privileges, has low complexity to exploit, and can result in significant impacts including complete system availability loss and unauthorized data modifications.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should prioritize immediate patching of their VirtualBox installations to version 5.1.24 or later, as this represents the first fixed release addressing the identified security issues. The mitigation strategy should include comprehensive inventory management to identify all systems running vulnerable VirtualBox versions and implementation of network segmentation to limit potential attack surfaces. Security teams should also implement monitoring solutions to detect unusual patterns in virtualization environment access and performance degradation that might indicate exploitation attempts. Additionally, organizations should review their privilege access controls to ensure that only authorized personnel have the necessary elevated privileges to access virtualization infrastructure, as this vulnerability specifically requires high-privileged access to be exploited effectively. The vulnerability's characteristics align with ATT&CK techniques related to privilege escalation and defense evasion, making it particularly relevant for organizations implementing comprehensive security monitoring and threat hunting programs.