VDB-43544 · CVE-2008-3431 · EUVD-2008-3417

Sun xVM VirtualBox up to 1.5.1 VBoxDrvNtDeviceControl access control

CVSS Meta Temp Score CVSS is a standardized scoring system to determine possibilities of attacks. The Temp Score considers temporal factors like disclosure, exploit and countermeasures. The unique Meta Score calculates the average score of different sources to provide a normalized scoring system.	Current Exploit Price (≈) Our analysts are monitoring exploit markets and are in contact with vulnerability brokers. The range indicates the observed or calculated exploit price to be seen on exploit markets. A good indicator to understand the monetary effort required for and the popularity of an attack.	CTI Interest Score Our Cyber Threat Intelligence team is monitoring different web sites, mailing lists, exploit markets and social media networks. The CTI Interest Score identifies the interest of attackers and the security community for this specific vulnerability in real-time. A high score indicates an elevated risk to be targeted for this vulnerability.
8.5	$0-$5k	0.00

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability was found in Sun xVM VirtualBox up to 1.5.1 and classified as problematic. The affected element is the function VBoxDrvNtDeviceControl. Such manipulation leads to access control. This vulnerability is traded as CVE-2008-3431. Furthermore, there is an exploit available. It is suggested to upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as critical, has been found in Sun xVM VirtualBox up to 1.5.1 (Virtualization Software). Affected by this issue is the function VBoxDrvNtDeviceControl. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a access control vulnerability. Using CWE to declare the problem leads to CWE-264. Impacted is confidentiality, integrity, and availability. CVE summarizes:

The VBoxDrvNtDeviceControl function in VBoxDrv.sys in Sun xVM VirtualBox before 1.6.4 uses the METHOD_NEITHER communication method for IOCTLs and does not properly validate a buffer associated with the Irp object, which allows local users to gain privileges by opening the \\.\VBoxDrv device and calling DeviceIoControl to send a crafted kernel address.

The bug was discovered 08/04/2008. The weakness was shared 08/05/2008 by Core Security with Core (Website). The advisory is shared for download at xforce.iss.net. This vulnerability is handled as CVE-2008-3431 since 07/31/2008. The exploitation is known to be easy. The attack needs to be approached locally. No form of authentication is required for exploitation. Technical details as well as a public exploit are known. The MITRE ATT&CK project declares the attack technique as T1068.

A public exploit has been developed by Core Security in ANSI C and been published 5 days after the advisory. The exploit is available at securityfocus.com. It is declared as attacked. The vulnerability was handled as a non-public zero-day exploit for at least 1 days. During that time the estimated underground price was around $5k-$25k. The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 33819 (Sun xVM VirtualBox < 1.6.4 Local Privilege Escalation), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment. It is assigned to the family Windows and running in the context l. This issue was added on 03/03/2022 to the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog with a due date of 03/24/2022:

Apply updates per vendor instructions.

Upgrading to version 1.5.2 eliminates this vulnerability.

The vulnerability is also documented in the databases at X-Force (44202), Exploit-DB (6218), Tenable (33819), EUVD (EUVD-2008-3417) and SecurityFocus (BID 30481†). VulDB is the best source for vulnerability data and more expert information about this specific topic.

Productinfo

Type

Virtualization Software

Vendor

Name

xVM VirtualBox

Version

License

commercial

Support

end of life (old version)

Website

Vendor: https://www.oracle.com/sun/

CPE 2.3info

CPE 2.2info

CVSSv4info

VulDB Vector: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 8.7
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 8.5

VulDB Base Score: 8.4
VulDB Temp Score: 8.0
VulDB Vector: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

NVD Base Score: 8.8
NVD Vector: 🔍

ADP CISA Base Score: 8.8
ADP CISA Vector: 🔍

CVSSv2info

AV	AC	Au	C	I	A
💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳
💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳
💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳

Vector	Complexity	Authentication	Confidentiality	Integrity	Availability
Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock

VulDB Base Score: 🔍
VulDB Temp Score: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

NVD Base Score: 🔍

Exploitinginfo

Class: Access control
CWE: CWE-264
CAPEC: 🔍
ATT&CK: 🔍

Physical: Partially
Local: Yes
Remote: No

Availability: 🔍
Access: Public
Status: Attacked
Author: Core Security
Programming Language: 🔍
Download: 🔍

EPSS Score: 🔍
EPSS Percentile: 🔍

KEV Added: 🔍
KEV Due: 🔍
KEV Remediation: 🔍
KEV Ransomware: 🔍
KEV Notice: 🔍

Price Prediction: 🔍
Current Price Estimation: 🔍

0-Day	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
Today	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock

Nessus ID: 33819
Nessus Name: Sun xVM VirtualBox < 1.6.4 Local Privilege Escalation
Nessus File: 🔍
Nessus Risk: 🔍
Nessus Family: 🔍
Nessus Context: 🔍

Exploit-DB: 🔍

Threat Intelligenceinfo

Interest: 🔍
Active Actors: 🔍
Active APT Groups: 🔍

Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: Upgrade
Status: 🔍

0-Day Time: 🔍
Exploit Delay Time: 🔍

Upgrade: xVM VirtualBox 1.5.2

Timelineinfo

07/31/2008 🔍
08/04/2008 +4 days 🔍
08/04/2008 +0 days 🔍
08/04/2008 +0 days 🔍
08/05/2008 +1 days 🔍
08/05/2008 +0 days 🔍
08/05/2008 +0 days 🔍
08/05/2008 +0 days 🔍
08/10/2008 +5 days 🔍
08/10/2008 +0 days 🔍
08/10/2008 +0 days 🔍
03/17/2015 +2410 days 🔍
04/22/2026 +4054 days 🔍

Sourcesinfo

Vendor: oracle.com

Advisory: xforce.iss.net
Researcher: Core Security
Organization: Core
Status: Confirmed
Confirmation: 🔍

CVE: CVE-2008-3431 (🔍)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2008-3431
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-43544
EUVD: 🔍
X-Force: 44202
SecurityFocus: 30481 - Sun xVM VirtualBox 'VBoxDrv.sys' Local Privilege Escalation Vulnerability
Secunia: 31361
OSVDB: 47424 - Sun - xVM VirtualBox - 'VBoxDrv.sys' Local Privilege Escalation Issue
SecurityTracker: 1020625
Vulnerability Center: 19110 - Sun xVM VirtualBox VBoxDrv.sys Vulnerability Allows Local Users to Execute Arbitrary Code, Medium
Vupen: ADV-2008-2293

scip Labs: https://www.scip.ch/en/?labs.20161013

Entryinfo

Created: 03/17/2015 12:19
Updated: 04/22/2026 04:09
Changes: 03/17/2015 12:19 (79), 08/15/2019 11:26 (11), 04/23/2024 06:56 (29), 07/16/2024 22:38 (12), 09/09/2024 22:29 (2), 11/03/2024 03:53 (1), 07/30/2025 06:10 (1), 04/22/2026 04:09 (11)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

VulDB is the best source for vulnerability data and more expert information about this specific topic.