CVE-2023-22017 in VM VirtualBox
Summary
by MITRE • 07/19/2023
Vulnerability in the Oracle VM VirtualBox product of Oracle Virtualization (component: Core). Supported versions that are affected are Prior to 6.1.46 and Prior to 7.0.10. 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: This vulnerability applies to Windows VMs only. 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 • 08/14/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2023-22017 represents a critical availability threat within Oracle VM VirtualBox virtualization platform, specifically targeting the Core component of the software. This flaw affects versions prior to 6.1.46 and 7.0.10, creating a significant risk for organizations relying on virtualized Windows environments. The vulnerability's classification as easily exploitable indicates that attackers with minimal privileges can leverage this weakness, making it particularly dangerous in environments where multiple users share the same physical infrastructure. The attack vector is considered local access, meaning that an attacker must already have logon credentials to the host system where VirtualBox operates, but this requirement is often achievable through various social engineering or credential theft techniques.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation or memory management within VirtualBox's core processing mechanisms. When a Windows virtual machine is running, the vulnerable code path can be triggered through specific sequences of operations or malformed inputs that cause the virtualization layer to enter an unstable state. The flaw manifests as a denial of service condition that can result in complete system hangs or frequent crashes, effectively rendering the virtualization environment unusable. This behavior aligns with CWE-121, which describes stack-based buffer overflow conditions, though the exact technical implementation may involve other memory corruption patterns that are common in virtualization software. The vulnerability's impact is particularly severe because it targets the fundamental operating principles of the virtualization layer, potentially affecting multiple VMs running simultaneously on the same host system.
The operational implications of CVE-2023-22017 extend beyond simple system downtime, creating cascading effects that can disrupt business continuity and IT operations. Organizations using VirtualBox for development, testing, or production environments face significant risk of service interruptions that can impact productivity and potentially lead to data loss if systems crash during critical operations. The vulnerability's local access requirement means that insider threats or compromised user accounts become particularly dangerous, as they can cause widespread disruption without requiring external network access or advanced exploitation techniques. This characteristic also makes the vulnerability difficult to detect through traditional network monitoring tools, as the attack occurs at the host system level rather than through network-based communication channels. From an attack perspective, this vulnerability maps to ATT&CK technique T1499.001, which involves network denial of service attacks, though in this case the attack is conducted locally and affects system availability rather than network connectivity.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should focus on immediate patching of affected systems, with organizations prioritizing updates to VirtualBox versions 6.1.46 or 7.0.10. System administrators should implement network segmentation to limit local access privileges and consider implementing additional monitoring for unusual system behavior that might indicate exploitation attempts. The vulnerability's specific targeting of Windows VMs suggests that organizations should also review their virtualization security policies and consider implementing more robust access controls for host systems. Additionally, organizations should conduct thorough vulnerability assessments to identify any other systems running affected VirtualBox versions and develop incident response procedures specifically addressing potential denial of service scenarios. The CVSS score of 5.5 indicates a medium severity threat that should not be ignored, particularly in environments where system availability is critical for business operations. Regular security assessments and vulnerability scanning should include checks for this specific vulnerability to ensure that all systems remain protected against exploitation attempts.