CVE-2021-2287 in VM VirtualBox
Summary
by MITRE • 04/23/2021
Vulnerability in the Oracle VM VirtualBox product of Oracle Virtualization (component: Core). The supported version that is affected is Prior to 6.1.20. Easily exploitable vulnerability allows unauthenticated 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 3.1 Base Score 7.1 (Confidentiality impacts). CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:N).
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/29/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2021-2287 represents a critical security flaw within Oracle VM VirtualBox's core component that affects versions prior to 6.1.20. This vulnerability falls under the Common Weakness Enumeration category CWE-284 which specifically addresses improper access control mechanisms. The flaw exists in the virtualization software's architecture where an unauthenticated attacker with logon access to the underlying infrastructure can exploit this weakness to compromise the entire VirtualBox environment. The CVSS 3.1 scoring system rates this vulnerability at 7.1 severity, with a base score that reflects the high impact on confidentiality and the relatively low complexity required for exploitation. The attack vector is classified as local access (AV:L) indicating that the attacker must already have some level of access to the host system where VirtualBox operates, while the low access complexity (AC:L) and lack of user interaction requirements (UI:N) make this threat particularly dangerous.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from insufficient access controls within the VirtualBox core functionality, allowing an attacker who has already gained system-level access to escalate privileges and gain unauthorized access to critical virtualization data. The vulnerability's impact extends beyond just the VirtualBox application itself, potentially affecting additional Oracle products that may be integrated or dependent on the virtualized environment. This cascading effect aligns with the ATT&CK framework's privilege escalation techniques where initial access is leveraged to expand control over the system. The confidentiality impact is rated as high (C:H) because successful exploitation could lead to complete exposure of all data accessible through the VirtualBox environment, including virtual machine configurations, guest operating system data, and potentially sensitive information stored within virtualized applications. The lack of integrity (I:N) and availability (A:N) impacts suggests that this vulnerability primarily targets data confidentiality rather than system availability or data modification capabilities.
The operational impact of CVE-2021-2287 presents significant risks for organizations relying on VirtualBox for virtualization services, particularly in enterprise environments where multiple virtual machines may be running on a single host system. Attackers exploiting this vulnerability could potentially access sensitive data from multiple virtual machines simultaneously, creating a substantial data breach scenario. The vulnerability's ability to affect additional Oracle products demonstrates how virtualization platforms can serve as attack vectors that compromise entire IT ecosystems. Organizations using older versions of VirtualBox should consider immediate remediation efforts to prevent exploitation, as the vulnerability's ease of exploitation combined with its potential for significant data compromise makes it a high-priority security concern. The attack scenario typically involves an attacker who has already gained some level of access to the host system and then leverages this access to exploit the VirtualBox vulnerability, making it essential for organizations to implement layered security controls and maintain updated virtualization software versions to mitigate this risk effectively.