CVE-2019-2524 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 5.2.24 and prior to 6.0.2. 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 • 06/28/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2019-2524 resides within Oracle VM VirtualBox's Core subcomponent, representing a critical security flaw that undermines the integrity and confidentiality of virtualized environments. This vulnerability affects Oracle VM VirtualBox versions prior to 5.2.24 and 6.0.2, making it particularly concerning given the widespread adoption of VirtualBox in enterprise and development environments. The flaw operates at a foundational level within the virtualization stack, potentially allowing attackers with minimal privileges to escalate their access and compromise the entire virtualization infrastructure.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and improper handling of user-supplied data within the VirtualBox Core component. Attackers with local logon access can exploit this weakness to execute arbitrary code within the VirtualBox execution environment, potentially leading to complete system compromise. The vulnerability's classification as easily exploitable indicates that the attack surface requires minimal specialized knowledge or resources to leverage effectively. This characteristic significantly increases the risk profile, as it reduces the barrier to successful exploitation for adversaries who may already have legitimate access to the target infrastructure.
From an operational perspective, the impact of CVE-2019-2524 extends far beyond the immediate VirtualBox environment, potentially affecting interconnected systems and applications that depend on the virtualized infrastructure. The CVSS 3.0 score of 8.8 reflects the severity of potential consequences, with high impacts across confidentiality, integrity, and availability domains. Successful exploitation could enable attackers to gain complete control over the VirtualBox instance, potentially allowing them to manipulate or extract sensitive data from virtual machines running on the compromised host. The score's consideration of a "changed scope" (S:C) indicates that the vulnerability could enable attackers to affect other products or systems beyond the immediate VirtualBox installation, creating cascading security implications.
This vulnerability aligns with CWE-121, which describes buffer overflow conditions in heap-based data structures, and relates to ATT&CK techniques such as privilege escalation and persistence mechanisms. The attack vector requires local access, making it particularly dangerous in environments where physical or administrative access might be compromised, or where insider threats exist. Organizations running vulnerable VirtualBox versions face significant risk of data breaches, system compromise, and potential lateral movement within their network infrastructure. The vulnerability's impact on availability is particularly concerning for mission-critical virtualized environments where downtime could result in substantial business disruption.
Mitigation strategies should prioritize immediate patching of affected VirtualBox installations to versions 5.2.24 or 6.0.2, which contain the necessary security fixes. Network segmentation and access controls should be reinforced to limit local access to VirtualBox hosts, while monitoring systems should be deployed to detect anomalous behavior indicative of exploitation attempts. Regular security assessments and vulnerability scanning should be implemented to identify additional weaknesses in the virtualization infrastructure. The remediation process should also include comprehensive review of virtual machine configurations and access controls, as the vulnerability could potentially enable attackers to manipulate virtual machine settings or access guest operating systems. Organizations should also consider implementing additional security controls such as virtual machine integrity monitoring and automated patch management systems to prevent similar vulnerabilities from affecting their virtualized environments in the future.