CVE-2020-2741 in VM VirtualBox
Summary
by MITRE
Vulnerability in the Oracle VM VirtualBox product of Oracle Virtualization (component: Core). Supported versions that are affected are Prior to 5.2.40, prior to 6.0.20 and prior to 6.1.6. Easily exploitable vulnerability allows high 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 unauthorized access to critical data or complete access to all Oracle VM VirtualBox accessible data. CVSS 3.0 Base Score 6.0 (Confidentiality impacts). CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:N).
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/26/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2020-2741 represents a significant security flaw within Oracle VM VirtualBox's core component that affects multiple version streams including those prior to 5.2.40, 6.0.20, and 6.1.6. This vulnerability falls under the category of privilege escalation and access control issues, specifically categorized as a CWE-284 Access Control vulnerability that permits unauthorized access to critical system resources. The CVSS 3.0 scoring of 6.0 indicates a medium severity threat with high confidentiality impact, reflecting the potential for unauthorized data access and system compromise. The vulnerability's exploitability requires an attacker to already possess logon credentials to the host infrastructure where VirtualBox operates, making it a targeted threat rather than a broad remote attack vector.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from inadequate access controls within VirtualBox's core architecture, allowing a high-privileged attacker with existing system access to escalate their privileges and gain unauthorized access to all data accessible through the virtualization platform. This flaw operates at a fundamental level within the virtualization stack, potentially enabling attackers to bypass security boundaries that should normally separate virtual machine environments from the host system and other virtual machines. The impact extends beyond the immediate VirtualBox environment as the compromised system can serve as a pivot point for attacking other connected systems and applications, creating a cascading security risk that aligns with ATT&CK technique T1078 Valid Accounts and T1566 Phishing for Information.
The operational implications of this vulnerability are severe for organizations relying on VirtualBox for virtualization services, as it creates a potential pathway for data exfiltration and system compromise. Attackers could leverage this vulnerability to access sensitive virtual machine configurations, guest operating system data, and potentially use the compromised VirtualBox instance to launch further attacks against networked systems. The confidentiality impact rating of high indicates that successful exploitation could result in complete disclosure of all accessible data within the VirtualBox environment, making it a particularly concerning vulnerability for enterprises handling sensitive information. Organizations may need to implement additional monitoring and access control measures to detect unauthorized access attempts and limit the potential damage from such a compromise.
Mitigation strategies should focus on immediate patch deployment to versions 5.2.40, 6.0.20, and 6.1.6 or later, as these releases contain the necessary security fixes to address the access control flaw. Additional protective measures include implementing strict access controls on host systems, utilizing network segmentation to limit access to virtualization infrastructure, and deploying monitoring solutions that can detect anomalous access patterns or privilege escalation attempts. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of maintaining up-to-date virtualization software and implementing defense-in-depth strategies that include regular security assessments of virtualization environments. Organizations should also consider implementing principle of least privilege access controls and regular security audits to minimize the risk of exploitation, particularly given that the vulnerability requires only high-privileged access to the host infrastructure, making it a significant concern for environments where administrative access is more widely distributed.