CVE-2017-3559 in VM VirtualBox
Summary
by MITRE
Vulnerability in the Oracle VM VirtualBox component of Oracle Virtualization (subcomponent: Core). Supported versions that are affected are Prior to 5.0.38 and Prior to 5.1.20. 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 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 7.9 (Confidentiality, Integrity and Availability impacts). CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:H).
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/20/2020
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-3559 represents a critical security flaw within Oracle VM VirtualBox's Core component that affects multiple versions prior to 5.0.38 and 5.1.20. This vulnerability operates under the Common Weakness Enumeration framework as a CWE-125, representing an out-of-bounds read condition that occurs when processing certain input data structures within the virtualization environment. The flaw exists in the underlying virtualization engine that manages virtual machine execution and resource allocation, creating an attack surface that can be exploited by adversaries with legitimate access to the host infrastructure where VirtualBox operates. The vulnerability's classification as easily exploitable indicates that the attack vector requires minimal technical sophistication while still maintaining the potential for significant operational impact.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from improper bounds checking within VirtualBox's core processing routines that handle virtual machine configuration and execution states. When a malicious user with low privileges accesses the host system where VirtualBox is installed, they can manipulate specific input parameters that trigger the out-of-bounds memory access condition. This flaw manifests in the virtualization layer's handling of serialized data structures that represent virtual machine configurations, potentially allowing attackers to inject malformed data that causes the virtualization engine to access memory locations outside the intended boundaries. The attack model aligns with ATT&CK technique T1059.001 for command and scripting interpreter usage, as exploitation typically involves leveraging the host system's access privileges to manipulate virtualization parameters.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple denial of service conditions, as successful exploitation can result in complete system crashes that render virtual machines unavailable for legitimate use. The vulnerability's CVSS 3.0 score of 7.9 reflects the balanced threat across confidentiality, integrity, and availability domains, with availability being the most severely impacted component. Attackers can achieve unauthorized access to modify virtual machine configurations, potentially leading to complete system compromise through persistence mechanisms. The vulnerability's ability to cause repeated crashes and system hangs creates a persistent availability threat that can severely impact business continuity and virtualization infrastructure reliability. Additionally, the compromised integrity of virtual machine configurations can allow attackers to establish persistent backdoors within virtualized environments, while the confidentiality implications extend to unauthorized access to sensitive virtual machine data and configuration parameters.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including patching to versions 5.0.38 or 5.1.20 and above, which contain the necessary memory boundary checks to prevent the out-of-bounds access conditions. Network segmentation and access control measures should be implemented to restrict host system access to authorized personnel only, while monitoring solutions should be deployed to detect unusual virtual machine configuration changes or repeated system crashes. The vulnerability's impact on virtualized environments means that organizations should also consider implementing additional security controls within their virtualization infrastructure, including regular virtual machine image integrity checks and monitoring for unauthorized configuration modifications. System administrators should also ensure that virtualization environments are properly isolated from untrusted network segments and that appropriate privilege separation is maintained between host system users and virtual machine administrators to limit the potential impact of exploitation.