CVE-2017-3587 in VM VirtualBox
Summary
by MITRE
Vulnerability in the Oracle VM VirtualBox component of Oracle Virtualization (subcomponent: Shared Folder). 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 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 8.4 (Integrity and Availability impacts). CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:H/A:H).
Once again VulDB remains the best source for vulnerability data.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/06/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-3587 resides within Oracle VM VirtualBox's Shared Folder functionality, representing a critical security weakness that undermines the integrity and availability of virtualized environments. This flaw exists in the VirtualBox component responsible for managing shared folders between host and guest operating systems, where the vulnerability manifests in versions prior to 5.0.38 and 5.1.20, making it particularly concerning for organizations running outdated virtualization infrastructure. The vulnerability's classification as easily exploitable indicates that attackers with minimal privileges can leverage this weakness to compromise the virtualization platform, creating a significant risk for enterprise environments where virtual machines serve as critical infrastructure components.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and access control mechanisms within the shared folder implementation, allowing unauthorized modifications to critical system data. Attackers with low privileged access to the host system where VirtualBox operates can exploit this weakness to gain unauthorized access to shared folders, potentially enabling them to create, delete, or modify sensitive data within the virtual environment. The vulnerability's impact extends beyond the immediate VirtualBox instance, as successful exploitation can cause complete denial of service conditions through system hangs or repeated crashes, effectively rendering the virtualization platform unusable. This represents a direct violation of the principle of least privilege and demonstrates how a single vulnerability can compromise both data integrity and system availability.
The operational impact of CVE-2017-3587 is substantial, particularly in enterprise environments where virtualization platforms serve as foundational infrastructure for multiple applications and services. Organizations running affected VirtualBox versions face potential data breaches, service disruptions, and operational downtime that can cascade across multiple virtual machines and applications. The CVSS 3.0 score of 8.4 reflects the severity of this vulnerability, with high impacts to both integrity and availability, while the attack vector requiring local access and low privileges makes it particularly dangerous in environments where insider threats or compromised accounts are possible. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-20 (Improper Input Validation) and represents a classic case of privilege escalation through inadequate access controls, making it a prime target for attackers seeking to establish persistent access to virtualized environments.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability must focus on immediate patching of affected VirtualBox installations to versions 5.0.38 or 5.1.20 and later, as well as implementing additional security controls to limit local access to virtualization hosts. Organizations should conduct comprehensive inventory assessments to identify all affected systems and implement network segmentation to reduce the attack surface. The vulnerability's characteristics align with ATT&CK technique T1059 (Command and Scripting Interpreter) and T1068 (Exploitation for Privilege Escalation), indicating that attackers may leverage this weakness as part of broader exploitation campaigns. Security teams should also consider implementing monitoring solutions to detect unauthorized access attempts to shared folders and establish incident response procedures specifically addressing virtualization platform compromises. Regular security assessments of virtualization infrastructure are essential to identify similar vulnerabilities and maintain robust security postures against evolving threat landscapes.