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CVE-2021-2250

8.2 HIGH

📋 TL;DR

This vulnerability in Oracle VM VirtualBox allows a high-privileged attacker with local access to the host system to completely compromise the VirtualBox software. The attack could potentially impact other products running on the same infrastructure. Only VirtualBox versions prior to 6.1.20 are affected.

💻 Affected Systems

Products:
  • Oracle VM VirtualBox
Versions: All versions prior to 6.1.20
Operating Systems: All platforms running VirtualBox
Default Config Vulnerable: ⚠️ Yes
Notes: Requires attacker to have high privileges (logon access) to the infrastructure where VirtualBox executes.

📦 What is this software?

Vm Virtualbox by Oracle

View all CVEs affecting Vm Virtualbox →

⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact

🔴

Worst Case

Complete takeover of Oracle VM VirtualBox, potentially leading to compromise of guest virtual machines and host system escalation.

🟠

Likely Case

Privileged attacker gains full control over VirtualBox, enabling manipulation of virtual machines and host resources.

🟢

If Mitigated

Limited impact if proper access controls restrict local administrative access to VirtualBox hosts.

🌐 Internet-Facing: LOW - Requires local access to the host system where VirtualBox runs.
🏢 Internal Only: HIGH - Internal attackers with administrative access to VirtualBox hosts can exploit this vulnerability.

🎯 Exploit Status

Public PoC: ✅ No
Weaponized: UNKNOWN
Unauthenticated Exploit: ✅ No
Complexity: LOW

Oracle describes it as 'easily exploitable' but requires high privileged access to the host system.

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Patch Version: 6.1.20 or later

Vendor Advisory: https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpuapr2021.html

Restart Required: Yes

Instructions:

1. Download VirtualBox 6.1.20 or later from Oracle website. 2. Uninstall current version. 3. Install updated version. 4. Restart the host system.

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Restrict local administrative access

all

Limit who has administrative access to systems running VirtualBox

Network segmentation

all

Isolate VirtualBox hosts from critical network segments

🧯 If You Can't Patch

  • Implement strict access controls to limit who can log into VirtualBox host systems
  • Monitor for suspicious activity on VirtualBox hosts and consider temporary suspension of VirtualBox usage

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check VirtualBox version: On Windows: Open VirtualBox GUI and check Help > About. On Linux: Run 'VBoxManage --version'

Check Version:

VBoxManage --version (Linux) or check Help > About in GUI (Windows)

Verify Fix Applied:

Confirm version is 6.1.20 or higher using the same commands

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

  • Unusual VirtualBox process activity
  • Unexpected VirtualBox service restarts
  • Suspicious privilege escalation attempts

Network Indicators:

  • Unusual network traffic from VirtualBox host to internal systems

SIEM Query:

Search for VirtualBox process anomalies or privilege escalation events on VirtualBox host systems

📊 Metadata

CVE ID: CVE-2021-2250
CVSS v3 Score: 8.2 (HIGH)
CVSS Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
Published: April 22, 2021
Last Updated: November 21, 2024

🔗 References

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