CVE-2008-3431
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
Description
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.
Official description from the CVE record, published by mitre. Copyright © 1999-2026 The MITRE Corporation. See /security/cve/legal for the CVE license. View the record on cve.org
Key data
CVSS 3.1 High 8.8
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
Attack vector: Local
The attacker needs local access to the system, or to trick a user into running something.
Attack complexity: Low
No special conditions are needed. The attack can be repeated at will.
Privileges required: Low
A basic user account is needed.
User interaction: None
No action from any user is needed.
Scope: Changed
The impact can reach other components beyond the vulnerable one.
Confidentiality impact: High
Serious or total effect on the secrecy of data.
Integrity impact: High
Serious or total effect on the trustworthiness of data.
Availability impact: High
Serious or total effect on availability.
| Metric | Value | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Attack vector | Local | The attacker needs local access to the system, or to trick a user into running something. |
| Attack complexity | Low | No special conditions are needed. The attack can be repeated at will. |
| Privileges required | Low | A basic user account is needed. |
| User interaction | None | No action from any user is needed. |
| Scope | Changed | The impact can reach other components beyond the vulnerable one. |
| Confidentiality impact | High | Serious or total effect on the secrecy of data. |
| Integrity impact | High | Serious or total effect on the trustworthiness of data. |
| Availability impact | High | Serious or total effect on availability. |
CVSS is owned and managed by FIRST.Org, Inc. (FIRST) and is used by permission. Each CVSS score on this site is shown together with its vector string, as published in the CVE record by the source named next to it. Learn more at first.org/cvss.
EPSS
- Score
- 0.06876 (6.9% probability)
- Percentile
- 94.1%
- Scores of
- Nov 10, 2026
- Model
- v2026.06.15
CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities
- Name in the catalog
- Oracle VirtualBox Insufficient Input Validation Vulnerability
- Added to the catalog
- Mar 3, 2022
- Federal due date
- Mar 24, 2022
CISA assessment as of Feb 10, 2025
- Exploitation
- Recorded by CISA as active
- Automatable
- no
- Technical impact
- total
References
- 30481 (securityfocus.com)vdb-entry
- 4107 (securityreason.com)third-party-advisory
- 6218 (exploit-db.com)exploit
- 240095 (sunsolve.sun.com)vendor-advisory
- 31361 (secunia.com)third-party-advisory
- coresecurity.com/content/virtualbox-privilege-escalation-vu…
- sun-xvmvirtualbox-privilege-escalation(44202) (exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com)vdb-entry
- ADV-2008-2293 (vupen.com)vdb-entry
- virtualbox.org/wiki/Changelog
- 1020625 (securitytracker.com)vdb-entry
- 20080804 CORE-2008-0716 - Sun xVM VirtualBox Privilege Escalation Vulnerability (securityfocus.com)mailing-list
Timeline
- ID reserved
- Record published
- Added to CISA KEV
- Record last updated
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About CubePath
Data from the CVE Program (MITRE), CISA KEV and FIRST EPSS. CVSS is owned by FIRST and used by permission. Not affiliated with or endorsed by MITRE, CISA or FIRST. Data as of Nov 10, 2026, 19:31 UTC. Sources and licenses