CVE-2019-2722 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 identified as CVE-2019-2722 resides within Oracle VM VirtualBox's Core subcomponent, representing a critical security flaw that affects versions prior to 5.2.28 and 6.0.6. This vulnerability operates under the Common Weakness Enumeration category CWE-20, which encompasses improper input validation, and specifically manifests as a buffer overflow condition that can be exploited by attackers with local access privileges. The vulnerability's classification as easily exploitable indicates that the attack surface is relatively accessible to threat actors who have already gained a foothold within the virtualization infrastructure, making it particularly dangerous in environments where virtual machines are extensively deployed.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through a flaw in how Oracle VM VirtualBox processes certain input parameters within its core functionality, allowing an attacker to manipulate memory structures and potentially execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the VirtualBox process. The CVSS 3.0 score of 8.8 reflects the severity of impact across confidentiality, integrity, and availability domains, with the attack vector classified as local access (AV:L) indicating that the attacker must already have login credentials to the host system where VirtualBox operates. The low attack complexity (AC:L) and the requirement for only local privileges (PR:L) further emphasize the dangerous nature of this vulnerability, as it can be leveraged by insiders or compromised users with minimal additional effort.
The operational impact of successful exploitation extends beyond the immediate compromise of the Oracle VM VirtualBox instance itself, potentially affecting multiple downstream systems and applications that depend on the virtualized environment. This cascading effect aligns with ATT&CK framework technique T1059, where attackers can use compromised virtualization software to establish persistent access and move laterally within the network infrastructure. The high impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability means that attackers could potentially exfiltrate sensitive data, modify virtual machine configurations, or disrupt critical business operations through complete takeover of the virtualization platform.
Organizations should prioritize immediate remediation by upgrading to Oracle VM VirtualBox versions 5.2.28 or 6.0.6, which contain the necessary patches to address the buffer overflow conditions. Additionally, implementing network segmentation and privilege separation measures can help limit the potential damage from exploitation, while monitoring for unusual virtual machine behavior or unauthorized access attempts can provide early detection of compromise. Security teams should also consider conducting comprehensive vulnerability assessments of their virtualization infrastructure to identify any other potentially affected systems and ensure proper access controls are in place to prevent unauthorized local access to virtualization hosts.