CVE-2024-21141 in VM VirtualBox
Summary
by MITRE • 07/17/2024
Vulnerability in the Oracle VM VirtualBox product of Oracle Virtualization (component: Core). Supported versions that are affected are Prior to 7.0.20. Easily exploitable vulnerability allows high privileged 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 (scope change). Successful attacks of this vulnerability can result in takeover of Oracle VM VirtualBox. CVSS 3.1 Base Score 8.2 (Confidentiality, Integrity and Availability impacts). CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H).
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/29/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2024-21141 represents a critical security flaw within Oracle VM VirtualBox's core component, specifically affecting versions prior to 7.0.20. This vulnerability operates under the Common Weakness Enumeration framework as CWE-284, which pertains to improper access control mechanisms. The flaw manifests as an easily exploitable condition that allows attackers with high privileged access to the underlying infrastructure hosting Oracle VM VirtualBox to gain complete control over the virtualization platform. The attack vector requires local access with elevated privileges, making it particularly dangerous in environments where administrative credentials are compromised or where attackers have already established a foothold within the system. The CVSS 3.1 scoring system assigns this vulnerability a base score of 8.2, reflecting high severity across all impact metrics including confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The attack complexity is rated as low, indicating that exploitation requires minimal effort and sophisticated knowledge is not necessary.
The operational impact of CVE-2024-21141 extends beyond the immediate compromise of Oracle VM VirtualBox itself, creating a scope change that can significantly affect additional Oracle products and virtualized environments. This cascading effect occurs because VirtualBox serves as a foundational component for numerous virtualization deployments, particularly in enterprise environments where multiple virtual machines may be hosted on a single physical server. When an attacker successfully exploits this vulnerability, they gain complete control over the virtualization layer, potentially enabling them to manipulate or extract data from all virtual machines running on the compromised host. The vulnerability's classification under the ATT&CK framework as a privilege escalation technique demonstrates how attackers can leverage this flaw to move laterally within virtualized environments and potentially access sensitive data stored across multiple virtual instances. The high impact on confidentiality means that attackers could access sensitive information stored within virtual machines, while integrity compromise allows for modification of virtual machine configurations or guest operating systems.
Organizations must implement immediate mitigation strategies to address this vulnerability, beginning with the mandatory upgrade to Oracle VM VirtualBox version 7.0.20 or later, which contains the necessary patches to prevent exploitation. Additionally, implementing strict access controls and privilege separation measures can help reduce the attack surface, as the vulnerability requires high privileged access to the underlying infrastructure for exploitation. Network segmentation and monitoring solutions should be deployed to detect anomalous behavior that might indicate successful exploitation attempts. The remediation process should include comprehensive vulnerability assessments across all virtualization environments to identify systems running affected versions of Oracle VM VirtualBox. Security teams should also establish incident response procedures specifically designed to handle virtualization layer compromises, as the scope of impact can extend far beyond the immediate virtualization platform. Regular security audits and penetration testing of virtualized environments are essential to maintain defense in depth. The vulnerability's characteristics align with ATT&CK technique T1068, which focuses on local privilege escalation, and T1566, which addresses social engineering through credential access, emphasizing the importance of both technical controls and user awareness training in preventing exploitation.