Security Basics mailing list archives
Re: Vulnerability of VMWare Virtual Machine?
From: "Gregory Rubin" <grrubin () gmail com>
Date: Fri, 24 Mar 2006 11:12:53 -0800
A virtual machine should be secured (for all intents and purposes) the same as a physical machine. It is vulnerable to the same attacks and can attack other computer just as if it were physical. The only difference is that instead of using physical hardware and wires, it uses virtual hardware and wires. 1) It depends. How well is the virtual LAN walled off from the internet. It is just as secure as an identically configured physical machine 2) The other computers on the LAN would be just as vulnerable as if the compromised box were physical instead of virtual. Greg Rubin On 3/23/06, Chavoux Luyt <chavoux () gmail com> wrote:
Hi I'm fairly new to virtual machines and would like to know more about their vulnerability after reading the recent thread on creating an isolated virtual LAN with 2 virtual machines. I'm using a VMware virtual machine running WindowsXP SP2(as guest OS) on linux (host OS) for development. I can connect to the virtual machine (shared folders) from the linux host using konqueror & samba. I cannot access the linux host from the Windows virtual machine, but I can connect to the internet and to the other (Windows) PC's on the LAN (using their IP adresses). I have not bothered to join the domain from the virtual machine nor installed the anti-virus/firewall software running on all the other PC's on the LAN. I only use the virtual network connection to copy data to and from the linux host. I have two questions regarding the security risk of this setup... 1. The virtual machine is on a different (virtual) subnetwork to the rest of the LAN... how vulnerable is it to attacks from the internet? I.e. is it more vulnerable than the other Windows machines on the LAN that have updated virus scanners and firewalls? (The whole LAN is behind a firewall as well). 2. If the virtual machine itself get compromised, it is not such a big problem. However, how vulnerable would the other windows machines on the LAN be to attacks from a compromised virtual machine? Basically, if I'm not worried about the data on the virtual machine, should I bother to make it secure? Thanks Chavoux --------------------------------------------------------------------------- EARN A MASTER OF SCIENCE IN INFORMATION ASSURANCE - ONLINE The Norwich University program offers unparalleled Infosec management education and the case study affords you unmatched consulting experience. Tailor your education to your own professional goals with degree customizations including Emergency Management, Business Continuity Planning, Computer Emergency Response Teams, and Digital Investigations. http://www.msia.norwich.edu/secfocus ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------- EARN A MASTER OF SCIENCE IN INFORMATION ASSURANCE - ONLINE The Norwich University program offers unparalleled Infosec management education and the case study affords you unmatched consulting experience. Tailor your education to your own professional goals with degree customizations including Emergency Management, Business Continuity Planning, Computer Emergency Response Teams, and Digital Investigations. http://www.msia.norwich.edu/secfocus ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Current thread:
- Vulnerability of VMWare Virtual Machine? Chavoux Luyt (Mar 24)
- Re: Vulnerability of VMWare Virtual Machine? Gregory Rubin (Mar 27)
- RE: Vulnerability of VMWare Virtual Machine? Burton Strauss (Mar 27)
- RE: Vulnerability of VMWare Virtual Machine? Murad Talukdar (Mar 27)
- Re: Vulnerability of VMWare Virtual Machine? Gregory Rubin (Mar 28)