CVE-2021-35542 in VM VirtualBox
Summary
by MITRE • 10/20/2021
Vulnerability in the Oracle VM VirtualBox product of Oracle Virtualization (component: Core). The supported version that is affected is Prior to 6.1.28. Easily exploitable vulnerability allows high privileged attacker with logon to the infrastructure where Oracle VM VirtualBox executes to compromise Oracle VM VirtualBox. Successful attacks of this vulnerability can result in unauthorized ability to cause a hang or frequently repeatable crash (complete DOS) of Oracle VM VirtualBox. CVSS 3.1 Base Score 4.4 (Availability impacts). CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H).
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/27/2021
CVE-2021-35542 represents a critical availability vulnerability within Oracle VM VirtualBox's core component that affects versions prior to 6.1.28. This vulnerability operates at the infrastructure level where VirtualBox executes, requiring an attacker with high-privileged access to the underlying system to exploit it successfully. The flaw resides in the virtualization core, which serves as the fundamental execution environment for all virtual machine operations, making it a prime target for adversaries seeking to disrupt virtualization services. The vulnerability's classification as easily exploitable indicates that the attack vector requires minimal technical sophistication while still demanding elevated privileges from the attacker.
The technical nature of this vulnerability manifests as a complete denial of service condition that can either cause a system hang or result in frequently repeatable crashes within the VirtualBox environment. This type of flaw typically stems from improper memory management, buffer overflows, or race conditions within the core virtualization code that handles guest operating system interactions. The availability impact is severe as demonstrated by the CVSS 3.1 base score of 4.4, which reflects the potential for complete system disruption. The attack vector requires local access with high privileges, indicating that the vulnerability may be exploited through malicious code injection or manipulation of system resources that VirtualBox utilizes during operation.
From an operational standpoint, this vulnerability presents significant risk to organizations that rely heavily on virtualization infrastructure, particularly those using older versions of VirtualBox. The ability to cause repeated crashes or complete system hangs can severely impact business continuity, especially in environments where virtual machines serve critical applications or services. The impact extends beyond simple service disruption as the vulnerability can potentially be leveraged to create persistent denial of service conditions that require manual intervention to resolve. Organizations running VirtualBox in production environments may experience cascading failures if the vulnerability is exploited, particularly in scenarios where multiple virtual machines depend on the same host infrastructure.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-119, which addresses improper access to memory locations, and may also relate to CWE-362, concerning concurrent execution using shared resources. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability could be categorized under T1499, which involves network denial of service attacks, and potentially T1059, involving command and script injection techniques that might be used to exploit the flaw. Organizations should prioritize immediate patching to version 6.1.28 or later, implement network segmentation to limit local access privileges, and establish monitoring protocols to detect unusual system behavior that might indicate exploitation attempts. Additionally, system administrators should consider implementing privilege separation mechanisms and regular security assessments of their virtualization environments to prevent unauthorized access to the underlying infrastructure that could lead to exploitation of such availability-focused vulnerabilities.