CVE-2018-2688 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 5.1.32 and Prior to 5.2.6. Easily exploitable vulnerability allows unauthenticated attacker with logon to the infrastructure where Oracle VM VirtualBox executes to compromise Oracle VM VirtualBox. Successful attacks require human interaction from a person other than the attacker and while the vulnerability is in Oracle VM VirtualBox, attacks may significantly impact additional products. Successful attacks of this vulnerability can result in takeover of Oracle VM VirtualBox. CVSS 3.0 Base Score 8.6 (Confidentiality, Integrity and Availability impacts). CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H).
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/01/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-2688 represents a critical security flaw within Oracle VM VirtualBox's core component that affects multiple versions prior to 5.1.32 and 5.2.6. This vulnerability falls under the Common Weakness Enumeration category CWE-284 which specifically addresses improper access control mechanisms, making it a significant concern for virtualization environments where proper access controls are paramount to system integrity. The vulnerability's classification as easily exploitable indicates that attackers can leverage this weakness with minimal technical sophistication, particularly when they already have logon access to the underlying infrastructure where VirtualBox operates. The CVSS 3.0 score of 8.6 reflects the high severity impact across confidentiality, integrity, and availability domains, demonstrating the potential for complete system compromise.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from insufficient access controls within the VirtualBox core functionality, allowing unauthorized users with access to the host system to potentially gain control over the virtualization environment itself. Attackers exploiting this vulnerability can leverage their existing logon credentials to execute malicious code that could lead to complete takeover of the VirtualBox instance. The requirement for human interaction from someone other than the attacker suggests that while initial access may be gained through legitimate user activities, the vulnerability creates a path for escalation that could be exploited by adversaries who have already compromised the host environment. This characteristic places the vulnerability in the ATT&CK framework under privilege escalation techniques where attackers can leverage existing access to gain more extensive control over the system.
The operational impact of CVE-2018-2688 extends beyond the immediate VirtualBox environment and can significantly affect additional products and services that rely on virtualization infrastructure. When an attacker successfully compromises VirtualBox, they can potentially access virtual machines running on the host system, leading to data breaches, system corruption, and complete service disruption. The confidentiality impact is high as attackers can potentially access sensitive data stored within virtual machines, while the integrity impact is equally severe as they can modify virtual environments and potentially corrupt virtual disk images. The availability impact is substantial as attackers can cause complete system outages by compromising the core virtualization layer that manages all virtual machine operations.
Organizations should immediately implement mitigations including updating to patched versions of Oracle VM VirtualBox, specifically versions 5.1.32 and 5.2.6 or later, to address this vulnerability. Network segmentation and access control measures should be strengthened to limit logon access to infrastructure hosting VirtualBox instances. Additionally, security monitoring should be enhanced to detect unusual activities that might indicate exploitation attempts. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of keeping virtualization software updated, as these components often serve as attack vectors for broader security breaches. Organizations should also consider implementing zero-trust security models where access to virtualization infrastructure requires multiple authentication factors and continuous monitoring for anomalous behavior patterns that could indicate exploitation of similar vulnerabilities.