CVE-2018-0885 in Windows
Summary
by MITRE
The Microsoft Hyper-V Network Switch in 64-bit versions of Microsoft Windows Server 2008 SP2 and R2 SP1, Windows Server 2012 and R2, Windows 10 Gold, 1511, 1607, 1703, and 1709, Windows Server 2016 and Windows Server, version 1709 allows a denial of service vulnerability due to how input from a privileged user on a guest operating system is validated, aka "Hyper-V Denial of Service Vulnerability".
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/17/2024
The CVE-2018-0885 vulnerability represents a critical denial of service flaw within Microsoft Hyper-V Network Switch implementations across multiple server and client operating system versions. This vulnerability specifically affects 64-bit versions of Windows Server 2008 SP2 and R2 SP1, Windows Server 2012 and R2, Windows 10 versions including Gold, 1511, 1607, 1703, and 1709, as well as Windows Server 2016 and Windows Server version 1709. The flaw exists in how the Hyper-V Network Switch component processes input from privileged users operating within guest virtual machines, creating a pathway for malicious exploitation that can result in system-wide service disruption. This vulnerability falls under the category of privilege escalation and denial of service attacks, where an attacker with access to a guest operating system can leverage this weakness to compromise the stability of the host system.
The technical root cause of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation mechanisms within the Hyper-V Network Switch driver. When a privileged user executes specific input sequences within a guest operating system, the underlying network switch component fails to properly validate or sanitize the data before processing it, leading to potential buffer overflows or memory corruption scenarios. This validation failure allows the malicious input to trigger unexpected behavior in the host system's network processing components, ultimately resulting in system instability and potential denial of service conditions. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because it requires only a privileged user context within a guest VM, making it accessible to attackers who have already gained some level of access to the virtual environment. This weakness maps directly to CWE-121, which describes heap-based buffer overflow conditions, and CWE-125, which addresses out-of-bounds read vulnerabilities that can occur due to insufficient input validation.
The operational impact of CVE-2018-0885 extends beyond simple service disruption, as it can lead to complete system crashes and require extensive recovery procedures. Organizations running virtualized environments with affected Hyper-V implementations face significant risks including unplanned downtime, service interruptions, and potential data loss during recovery operations. The vulnerability affects enterprise environments that rely heavily on Hyper-V for virtual machine hosting, potentially compromising the availability of critical business applications and services. Attackers could exploit this weakness to repeatedly crash virtual machines or the host system itself, making it particularly dangerous in cloud computing environments where multiple tenants share the same physical infrastructure. The impact is amplified in scenarios where the host system manages numerous virtual machines, as a single compromised guest could potentially affect the entire virtualized environment.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2018-0885 should focus on immediate patch application and operational hardening measures. Microsoft released security updates addressing this vulnerability through the regular monthly security updates, and organizations should prioritize applying these patches to all affected systems. System administrators should implement network segmentation and access controls to limit the privileges available to users within guest operating systems, reducing the attack surface for potential exploitation. Additionally, monitoring solutions should be deployed to detect anomalous network behavior or repeated system crashes that might indicate exploitation attempts. Organizations should also consider implementing virtual machine isolation techniques and regular system health checks to identify potential compromise indicators. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of maintaining up-to-date security patches and following the principle of least privilege in virtualized environments. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability relates to T1068, which covers exploit for privilege escalation, and T1499, which addresses network denial of service attacks. Organizations should also review their incident response procedures to ensure preparedness for potential exploitation scenarios involving virtualized infrastructure.