CVE-2018-3055 in VM VirtualBox
Summary
by MITRE
Vulnerability in the Oracle VM VirtualBox component of Oracle Virtualization (subcomponent: Core). The supported version that is affected is Prior to 5.2.16. 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 unauthorized ability to cause a hang or frequently repeatable crash (complete DOS) of Oracle VM VirtualBox and unauthorized read access to a subset of Oracle VM VirtualBox accessible data. CVSS 3.0 Base Score 7.1 (Confidentiality and Availability impacts). CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:N/A:H).
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/18/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-3055 resides within Oracle VM VirtualBox's Core subcomponent, representing a critical security flaw that affects versions prior to 5.2.16. This vulnerability operates within the realm of virtualization security and demonstrates how flaws in hypervisor components can create cascading effects across virtualized environments. The vulnerability's classification as easily exploitable indicates that attackers with minimal prerequisites can leverage this weakness, making it particularly dangerous in production environments where virtual machines are extensively deployed. The CVSS 3.0 score of 7.1 reflects the severity of the impact, with high availability impact and medium confidentiality impact, suggesting that while data confidentiality may be partially compromised, the primary threat lies in service disruption and potential system instability.
The technical nature of this vulnerability involves a flaw that permits unauthenticated attackers who already possess login credentials for the host infrastructure to compromise the VirtualBox instance. This represents a privilege escalation scenario where existing access to the host system can be leveraged to gain deeper control over the virtualization layer. The requirement for human interaction from a person other than the attacker indicates that while the initial compromise may require user engagement, once the vulnerability is exploited, the attacker can maintain persistent access to the virtualization environment. The vulnerability's impact extends beyond the immediate VirtualBox component, potentially affecting other products that rely on the compromised virtualization infrastructure, demonstrating the interconnected nature of modern virtualized environments.
The operational consequences of this vulnerability are severe and multifaceted, encompassing both availability and confidentiality impacts. Successful exploitation can result in complete denial of service conditions where the VirtualBox instance becomes unresponsive or repeatedly crashes, effectively rendering the virtualization environment unusable for legitimate operations. Additionally, attackers can achieve unauthorized read access to specific subsets of data within the VirtualBox accessible environment, potentially exposing sensitive virtual machine configurations, guest operating system information, or other confidential virtualization metadata. This dual impact on availability and confidentiality creates a particularly dangerous scenario for enterprise environments where virtualization platforms serve as foundational infrastructure components.
From a cybersecurity framework perspective, this vulnerability aligns with CWE-200 (Information Exposure) and CWE-476 (NULL Pointer Dereference) categories, demonstrating how seemingly minor flaws in core components can create significant security risks. The ATT&CK framework would categorize this vulnerability under T1059 (Command and Scripting Interpreter) and T1499 (Endpoint Denial of Service) tactics, as attackers could leverage the denial of service capability to disrupt operations while potentially using information disclosure to gather intelligence for further attacks. Organizations should implement immediate patch management protocols to upgrade to VirtualBox version 5.2.16 or later, while also establishing network segmentation controls to limit access to virtualization infrastructure. Additional mitigations include implementing strict access controls for host systems, monitoring for unusual VirtualBox process behavior, and maintaining comprehensive backup strategies to ensure rapid recovery from potential denial of service conditions. The vulnerability serves as a reminder of the critical importance of keeping virtualization platforms updated and the potential for host-based access to create significant risks within virtualized environments.