In a recent deep-dive into the world of cybersecurity, Trung, a new member of the Qrious Secure team, has meticulously dissected two significant vulnerabilities in the open-source software, VirtualBox. These vulnerabilities, identified as CVE-2023-21987 and CVE-2023-21991, were initially exploited during the Pwn2Own Vancouver 2023 event. Trung’s mission was to understand and reproduce these security bugs, and his findings are nothing short of enlightening.
Trung’s exploration began with the version of VirtualBox used during the Pwn2Own competition, specifically version 7.0.6. His first step was to build VirtualBox and establish a debugging environment. This process, while complex, was crucial for his in-depth analysis.
The author’s journey into the heart of VirtualBox’s source code was not a simple read-through. Instead, he leveraged existing blog posts and resources about VirtualBox exploitation, which provided insights into the software’s architecture and operation. This approach allowed him to gain a solid understanding of VirtualBox’s inner workings in a relatively short amount of time.
Trung’s analysis focused on two main attack vectors within VirtualBox: memory-mapped I/O and port I/O. These are the primary communication channels between the guest OS and the host, making them the perfect starting point for any potential exploit.
The author’s detailed analysis revealed an out-of-bounds (OOB) write bug in the TPM components and an OOB read bug in the VGA components. These vulnerabilities were only exploitable when certain conditions were met, such as enabling TPM 2.0, which is required to run Windows 11 inside VirtualBox.
Trung’s comprehensive analysis of these VirtualBox vulnerabilities provides valuable insights into the world of cybersecurity. His work underscores the importance of continuous learning and vigilance in the face of ever-evolving cyber threats.
For a more detailed look into Trung’s analysis, visit the original article.
