source: vbox/trunk/doc/manual/en_US/user_Security.xml@ 38395

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE chapter PUBLIC "-//OASIS//DTD DocBook XML V4.4//EN"
"http://www.oasis-open.org/docbook/xml/4.4/docbookx.dtd">
<chapter id="Security">
  <title>Security guide</title>

  <sect1>
    <title>Potentially insecure operations</title>

    <para>The following features of VirtualBox can present security
    problems:<itemizedlist>
        <listitem>
          <para>Enabling 3D graphics via the Guest Additions exposes the host
          to additional security risks; see <xref
          linkend="guestadd-3d" />.</para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>When teleporting a machine, the data stream through which the
          machine's memory contents are transferred from one host to another
          is not encrypted. A third party with access to the network through
          which the data is transferred could therefore intercept that
          data.</para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>When using the VirtualBox web service to control a VirtualBox
          host remotely, connections to the web service (through which the API
          calls are transferred via SOAP XML) are not encrypted, but use plain
          HTTP. This is a potential security risk! For details about the web
          service, please see <xref linkend="VirtualBoxAPI" />.</para>
        </listitem>
        
        <listitem>
          <para>All traffic sent over an UDP Tunnel network attachment is not
          encrypted. You can either encrypt it on the host network level (with
          IPsec), or use encrypted protocols in the guest network (such as
          SSH). The security properties are similar to bridged Ethernet.</para>
        </listitem>
      </itemizedlist></para>
  </sect1>

  <sect1>
    <title>Authentication</title>

    <para>The following components of VirtualBox can use passwords for
    authentication:<itemizedlist>
        <listitem>
          <para>When using the VirtualBox extension pack provided by Oracle
          for VRDP remote desktop support, you can optionally use various
          methods to configure RDP authentication. The "null" method is
          very insecure and should be avoided in a public network.
          See <xref linkend="vbox-auth" /> for details.</para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>When using teleporting, passwords can optionally be used to
          protect a machine waiting to be teleported from unauthorized access.
          Note however that these passwords are stored <emphasis
          role="bold">unencrypted</emphasis> in the machine configuration XML
          and therefore potentially readable on the host. See <xref
          linkend="teleporting" /> and <xref
          linkend="vboxmanage-modifyvm-teleport" />.</para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>When using remote iSCSI storage and the storage server
          requires authentication, a password can optionally be supplied with
          the <computeroutput>VBoxManage storageattach</computeroutput>
          command. Note however that this is stored <emphasis
          role="bold">unencrypted</emphasis> in the machine configuration and
          is therefore potentially readable on the host. See <xref
          linkend="storage-iscsi" /> and <xref
          linkend="vboxmanage-storageattach" />.</para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>When using the VirtualBox web service to control a VirtualBox
          host remotely, connections to the web service are authenticated in
          various ways. This is described in detail in the VirtualBox Software
          Development Kit (SDK) reference; please see <xref
          linkend="VirtualBoxAPI" />.</para>
        </listitem>
      </itemizedlist></para>
  </sect1>

  <sect1>
    <title>Encryption</title>

    <para>The following components of VirtualBox use encryption to protect
    sensitive data:<itemizedlist>
        <listitem>
          <para>When using the VirtualBox extension pack provided by Oracle
          for VRDP remote desktop support, RDP data can optionally be
          encrypted. See <xref linkend="vrde-crypt" /> for details. Only
          the Enhanced RDP Security method (RDP5.2) with TLS protocol
          provides a secure connection. Standard RDP Security (RDP4 and
          RDP5.1) is vulnerable to a man-in-the-middle attack.</para>
        </listitem>
      </itemizedlist></para>
  </sect1>
</chapter>