CVE-2017-3575 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 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 creation, deletion or modification access to critical data or all Oracle VM VirtualBox accessible data and unauthorized ability to cause a hang or frequently repeatable crash (complete DOS) of Oracle VM VirtualBox. CVSS 3.0 Base Score 7.9 (Integrity and Availability impacts). CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:H/A:H).
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/06/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-3575 resides within Oracle VM VirtualBox's Core subcomponent, representing a critical security flaw that undermines the integrity and availability of virtualization environments. This vulnerability affects specific versions of Oracle VM VirtualBox prior to 5.0.38 and 5.1.20, making it particularly concerning for organizations that have not updated their virtualization infrastructure. The flaw's classification as easily exploitable indicates that attackers with high-privileged access to the underlying infrastructure where VirtualBox operates can leverage this weakness to compromise the entire virtualization platform. The vulnerability's impact extends beyond just VirtualBox itself, as successful exploitation can affect other Oracle products that rely on the virtualization environment, creating cascading security implications throughout enterprise infrastructures.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and improper access controls within the VirtualBox Core component, which allows authenticated attackers with local privileges to manipulate critical system functions. Attackers can exploit this weakness to gain unauthorized access to modify, delete, or create data within the VirtualBox environment, potentially leading to complete data compromise. The vulnerability's CVSS 3.0 score of 7.9 reflects the significant impact on both integrity and availability aspects, with the attack vector requiring local access (AV:L) but low complexity (AC:L) and high privilege requirements (PR:H). The vulnerability's ability to cause repeated crashes or complete system hangs represents a severe availability threat that can effectively disable virtualization services and disrupt business operations.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability creates substantial risk for organizations relying on Oracle VM VirtualBox for their virtualized environments, particularly those with multiple virtual machines running critical applications. The potential for unauthorized data modification or deletion means that sensitive corporate information, intellectual property, and system configurations could be compromised without detection. The vulnerability's impact on system availability can result in significant downtime, service disruption, and potential financial losses for organizations dependent on continuous virtualization services. Security teams must consider this vulnerability as a potential entry point for broader attacks, as compromised VirtualBox instances can serve as launching pads for additional exploitation attempts against other systems within the network infrastructure.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigation strategies including updating to supported VirtualBox versions 5.0.38 or 5.1.20, which contain the necessary patches to address the vulnerability. Network segmentation and access control measures should be strengthened to limit local access privileges to VirtualBox installations, reducing the attack surface for potential exploitation. Monitoring systems should be enhanced to detect unusual activity patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts, particularly around data modification operations and system stability issues. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-20 (Improper Input Validation) and CWE-284 (Improper Access Control) categories, while also mapping to ATT&CK techniques involving privilege escalation and persistence mechanisms. Regular vulnerability assessments and penetration testing should be conducted to identify similar weaknesses in virtualization environments and ensure comprehensive protection against evolving threats targeting virtualized infrastructures.