CVE-2019-2680 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 5.2.28 and prior to 6.0.6. 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 • 09/04/2023
The vulnerability described in CVE-2019-2680 represents a critical security flaw within Oracle VM VirtualBox's Core subcomponent that affects versions prior to 5.2.28 and 6.0.6. 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 privilege escalation and system compromise are primary attack vectors. The flaw exists in the underlying virtualization infrastructure that governs how virtual machines interact with host system resources, creating a pathway for malicious actors to exploit the virtualization layer itself rather than targeting guest operating systems directly.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from insufficient access controls within the VirtualBox Core component that manages virtual machine execution and resource allocation. An attacker with low-privileged access to the host system where VirtualBox operates can leverage this weakness to escalate privileges and gain complete control over the virtualization environment. This represents a classic privilege escalation attack pattern that aligns with ATT&CK technique T1068 which focuses on exploiting legitimate credentials and privileges to gain higher-level access. The vulnerability's exploitability is rated as easily accessible due to the low attack complexity required and the fact that it only requires a logon session on the host infrastructure, making it particularly dangerous in multi-tenant environments or shared hosting scenarios.
The operational impact of CVE-2019-2680 extends far beyond the immediate compromise of the VirtualBox instance itself. Successful exploitation can lead to complete system takeover, allowing attackers to access all virtual machines managed by the compromised VirtualBox instance, potentially resulting in data breaches, system corruption, and unauthorized access to sensitive information. The CVSS 3.0 base score of 8.8 reflects the high severity across all impact vectors with high scores for confidentiality, integrity, and availability, indicating that attackers can simultaneously access sensitive data, modify system configurations, and disrupt availability of services. The scope of the impact is further amplified by the potential for lateral movement within network environments where VirtualBox serves as a critical infrastructure component, particularly in enterprise settings where virtualization platforms host multiple business-critical applications and data.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should immediately implement mitigations including upgrading to supported versions of Oracle VM VirtualBox, specifically versions 5.2.28 or 6.0.6 and later, which contain the necessary patches to address the access control weakness. Additionally, implementing network segmentation and access controls to limit physical and logical access to systems running VirtualBox can help reduce the attack surface. Security monitoring should focus on unusual authentication patterns and privilege escalation attempts on virtualization infrastructure hosts. The remediation process should also include comprehensive vulnerability assessments of all virtualization environments and review of access controls to ensure that only authorized personnel maintain logon access to host systems where virtualization platforms operate. This vulnerability underscores the importance of maintaining up-to-date virtualization infrastructure and implementing proper security controls around privileged access to virtualization hosts, as the compromise of such systems can have cascading effects across entire enterprise environments.