CVE-2023-22018 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. Difficult to exploit vulnerability allows unauthenticated attacker with network access via RDP to compromise Oracle VM VirtualBox. Successful attacks of this vulnerability can result in takeover of Oracle VM VirtualBox. CVSS 3.1 Base Score 8.1 (Confidentiality, Integrity and Availability impacts). CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H).
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/14/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2023-22018 represents a critical security flaw within Oracle VM VirtualBox's core component that affects versions prior to 6.1.46 and 7.0.10. This vulnerability resides in the Oracle Virtualization framework's virtualization layer and specifically impacts the RDP (Remote Desktop Protocol) implementation that allows remote access to virtual machines. The flaw demonstrates characteristics of a remote code execution vulnerability that can be exploited without authentication, making it particularly dangerous in environments where virtualization platforms are exposed to untrusted networks. The CVSS 3.1 scoring of 8.1 indicates a high severity level with significant impacts across confidentiality, integrity, and availability domains, reflecting the potential for complete system compromise.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and potentially improper handling of RDP protocol communications within the VirtualBox core architecture. Attackers can exploit this weakness by establishing network connections to the affected VirtualBox instances and leveraging the RDP interface to execute malicious code or manipulate virtual machine operations. The vulnerability's difficulty level is rated as hard to exploit, suggesting that while sophisticated attack techniques are required, the actual attack surface remains accessible to determined adversaries who can establish network connectivity to the target systems. This characteristic aligns with ATT&CK technique T1071.004 for application layer protocol usage and potentially T1190 for exploitation of remote services.
The operational impact of successful exploitation can be devastating for organizations relying on VirtualBox for their virtualization infrastructure. An attacker who successfully compromises the VirtualBox instance gains complete control over the virtualization environment, potentially enabling them to access all virtual machines hosted on the system, steal sensitive data, modify system configurations, or use the compromised platform as a launch point for further attacks within the network. The availability impact is particularly severe as attackers could potentially disrupt services by terminating critical virtual machines or corrupting virtual disk images. This vulnerability particularly affects enterprise environments where VirtualBox may be used for development, testing, or even production virtualization workloads, creating a significant risk for organizations that have not yet applied the necessary security patches.
Organizations should prioritize immediate remediation efforts by upgrading to Oracle VM VirtualBox versions 6.1.46 or 7.0.10, which contain the necessary security fixes to address this vulnerability. Network segmentation and firewall rules should be implemented to restrict access to VirtualBox RDP services, particularly when these systems are exposed to untrusted networks. Additional protective measures include disabling RDP access where possible, implementing strong authentication mechanisms, and monitoring network traffic for suspicious RDP activity. Security teams should also conduct comprehensive vulnerability assessments to identify all affected systems within their environment and establish incident response procedures to address potential exploitation attempts. The vulnerability's classification under CWE-20 indicates improper input validation, which underscores the importance of proper security testing and code review processes in virtualization software development.