CVE-2018-2844 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 5.1.36 and Prior to 5.2.10. 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 takeover of Oracle VM VirtualBox. CVSS 3.0 Base Score 8.8 (Confidentiality, Integrity and Availability impacts). CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H).
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/03/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-2844 resides within Oracle VM VirtualBox's Core subcomponent, representing a critical security flaw that affects versions prior to 5.1.36 and 5.2.10. This vulnerability operates at the infrastructure level where VirtualBox executes, making it particularly dangerous as it requires only low-privileged access to the host system to exploit. The attack vector leverages local system access, meaning an attacker who has already gained some level of access to the machine hosting VirtualBox can potentially escalate their privileges and compromise the entire virtualization environment. The CVSS 3.0 score of 8.8 reflects the high severity of this flaw, indicating that successful exploitation can result in complete compromise of the system's confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The vulnerability's classification as easily exploitable suggests that the attack requires minimal skill and resources, making it particularly dangerous in environments where multiple users or services operate on the same host infrastructure.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from improper handling of certain operations within VirtualBox's core functionality, creating a potential pathway for privilege escalation and system takeover. Attackers can leverage this flaw to execute arbitrary code with elevated privileges, potentially gaining complete control over the virtualization environment. The impact extends beyond just VirtualBox itself, as successful exploitation can lead to cascading effects that compromise other systems or applications running in the same infrastructure. The vulnerability's ability to affect additional products demonstrates how virtualization platforms can serve as attack vectors that extend security boundaries, particularly in enterprise environments where multiple virtual machines may share the same physical host. This characteristic aligns with ATT&CK technique T1059.001 for command and scripting interpreter and potentially T1068 for local privilege escalation, depending on the specific exploitation methods employed.
The operational impact of CVE-2018-2844 is substantial, as it can result in complete system compromise and data breaches when exploited by malicious actors. Organizations running affected VirtualBox versions face significant risk of unauthorized access to virtual machines, potential data exfiltration, and disruption of critical business operations. The vulnerability's local access requirement means that even basic compromise of the host system can lead to widespread damage across all virtual environments hosted on that infrastructure. Enterprises utilizing virtualization technologies for security isolation may find their protective boundaries compromised, as the attack can potentially bypass traditional network security measures. The availability impact is particularly concerning as attackers could potentially cause denial of service conditions or destroy virtual machine configurations, while the confidentiality and integrity impacts suggest that sensitive data within virtual environments could be accessed, modified, or deleted. This vulnerability particularly affects organizations using VirtualBox for development, testing, or production environments where multiple virtual machines operate on shared physical infrastructure.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2018-2844 primarily involve immediate patching of affected VirtualBox installations to versions 5.1.36 or 5.2.10 and later. Organizations should implement strict access controls and privilege management to minimize the risk of unauthorized local access to systems hosting VirtualBox. Network segmentation and monitoring should be enhanced to detect potential exploitation attempts, while regular security assessments of virtualization environments should be conducted. The vulnerability's classification as a privilege escalation issue suggests that implementing least privilege principles for VirtualBox processes and regular security audits of virtual environments can significantly reduce risk. Additionally, organizations should consider implementing intrusion detection systems specifically designed to monitor virtualization environments and establish incident response procedures that account for potential virtual machine compromise scenarios. The remediation process should include comprehensive testing of patched environments to ensure that the vulnerability is fully addressed without introducing compatibility issues with existing virtual machines or applications.