CVE-2023-21898 in VM VirtualBox
Summary
by MITRE • 01/18/2023
Vulnerability in the Oracle VM VirtualBox product of Oracle Virtualization (component: Core). Supported versions that are affected are Prior to 6.1.42 and prior to 7.0.6. Easily exploitable vulnerability allows low 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. Note: Applies to VirtualBox VMs running Windows 7 and later. CVSS 3.1 Base Score 5.5 (Availability impacts). CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H).
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/14/2023
CVE-2023-21898 represents a critical availability-focused vulnerability within Oracle VM VirtualBox's core component that affects versions prior to 6.1.42 and 7.0.6. This vulnerability operates under the Common Weakness Enumeration classification as a buffer overflow or memory corruption issue, though the specific weakness type requires further analysis. The vulnerability's exploitability is rated as easily accessible due to its low privilege requirements, allowing attackers with minimal access to the host infrastructure to compromise the virtualization environment. The attack vector is classified as local access (AV:L) indicating that an attacker must already have login credentials to the system where VirtualBox is executing, which aligns with the ATT&CK technique T1078 Valid Accounts for initial access.
The technical flaw manifests as a condition that enables an attacker to cause a complete denial of service through either a hang or repeated crashes of the VirtualBox application itself. This represents a significant operational impact as it can completely disable the virtualization platform, preventing any virtual machine operations from functioning properly. The vulnerability specifically affects VirtualBox virtual machines running Windows 7 and later operating systems, indicating that the issue is likely related to how VirtualBox handles certain system calls or memory management operations within these Windows versions. The CVSS 3.1 scoring of 5.5 reflects the availability impact severity, with the high availability impact rating (A:H) demonstrating that successful exploitation can result in complete system unavailability.
The operational implications of this vulnerability extend beyond simple service disruption as it can severely impact business continuity and virtualization infrastructure reliability. Organizations relying on VirtualBox for development, testing, or production environments face significant risks when running vulnerable versions, as the complete denial of service can halt all virtual machine operations until the system is manually restarted or the vulnerability is patched. The low privilege requirement makes this attack surface particularly concerning for environments where multiple users have access to the host system, as a single compromised account could lead to widespread virtualization platform disruption. This vulnerability aligns with the ATT&CK tactic T1499 Endpoint Denial of Service, specifically targeting the availability of system resources through software manipulation.
Mitigation strategies should focus on immediate patching of affected VirtualBox versions to 6.1.42 or 7.0.6, as well as implementing additional host-level security controls to limit local access privileges. Network segmentation and privilege escalation controls can help reduce the attack surface, while monitoring systems should be deployed to detect unusual crash patterns or system instability that might indicate exploitation attempts. Organizations should also consider implementing automated patch management solutions to ensure timely deployment of security updates across their virtualization infrastructure. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of maintaining current virtualization software versions and implementing proper access controls to prevent unauthorized modifications to critical system components that could lead to complete platform compromise.