1 | <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
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2 | <!DOCTYPE chapter PUBLIC "-//OASIS//DTD DocBook XML V4.4//EN"
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3 | "http://www.oasis-open.org/docbook/xml/4.4/docbookx.dtd">
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4 | <chapter id="Security">
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5 | <title>Security guide</title>
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6 |
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7 | <sect1>
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8 | <title>Potentially insecure operations</title>
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9 |
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10 | <para>The following features of VirtualBox can present security
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11 | problems:<itemizedlist>
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12 | <listitem>
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13 | <para>Enabling 3D graphics via the Guest Additions exposes the host
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14 | to additional security risks; see <xref
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15 | linkend="guestadd-3d" />.</para>
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16 | </listitem>
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17 |
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18 | <listitem>
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19 | <para>When teleporting a machine, the data stream through which the
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20 | machine's memory contents are transferred from one host to another
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21 | is not encrypted. A third party with access to the network through
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22 | which the data is transferred could therefore intercept that
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23 | data.</para>
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24 | </listitem>
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25 |
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26 | <listitem>
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27 | <para>When using the VirtualBox web service to control a VirtualBox
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28 | host remotely, connections to the web service (through which the API
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29 | calls are transferred via SOAP XML) are not encrypted, but use plain
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30 | HTTP. This is a potential security risk! For details about the web
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31 | service, please see <xref linkend="VirtualBoxAPI" />.</para>
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32 | </listitem>
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33 |
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34 | <listitem>
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35 | <para>All traffic sent over an UDP Tunnel network attachment is not
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36 | encrypted. You can either encrypt it on the host network level (with
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37 | IPsec), or use encrypted protocols in the guest network (such as
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38 | SSH). The security properties are similar to bridged Ethernet.</para>
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39 | </listitem>
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40 | </itemizedlist></para>
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41 | </sect1>
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42 |
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43 | <sect1>
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44 | <title>Authentication</title>
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45 |
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46 | <para>The following components of VirtualBox can use passwords for
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47 | authentication:<itemizedlist>
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48 | <listitem>
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49 | <para>When using the VirtualBox extension pack provided by Oracle
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50 | for VRDP remote desktop support, you can optionally use various
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51 | methods to configure RDP authentication. The "null" method is
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52 | very insecure and should be avoided in a public network.
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53 | See <xref linkend="vbox-auth" /> for details.</para>
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54 | </listitem>
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55 |
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56 | <listitem>
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57 | <para>When using teleporting, passwords can optionally be used to
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58 | protect a machine waiting to be teleported from unauthorized access.
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59 | Note however that these passwords are stored <emphasis
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60 | role="bold">unencrypted</emphasis> in the machine configuration XML
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61 | and therefore potentially readable on the host. See <xref
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62 | linkend="teleporting" /> and <xref
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63 | linkend="vboxmanage-modifyvm-teleport" />.</para>
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64 | </listitem>
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65 |
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66 | <listitem>
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67 | <para>When using remote iSCSI storage and the storage server
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68 | requires authentication, a password can optionally be supplied with
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69 | the <computeroutput>VBoxManage storageattach</computeroutput>
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70 | command. Note however that this is stored <emphasis
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71 | role="bold">unencrypted</emphasis> in the machine configuration and
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72 | is therefore potentially readable on the host. See <xref
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73 | linkend="storage-iscsi" /> and <xref
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74 | linkend="vboxmanage-storageattach" />.</para>
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75 | </listitem>
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76 |
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77 | <listitem>
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78 | <para>When using the VirtualBox web service to control a VirtualBox
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79 | host remotely, connections to the web service are authenticated in
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80 | various ways. This is described in detail in the VirtualBox Software
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81 | Development Kit (SDK) reference; please see <xref
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82 | linkend="VirtualBoxAPI" />.</para>
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83 | </listitem>
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84 | </itemizedlist></para>
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85 | </sect1>
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86 |
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87 | <sect1>
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88 | <title>Encryption</title>
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89 |
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90 | <para>The following components of VirtualBox use encryption to protect
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91 | sensitive data:<itemizedlist>
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92 | <listitem>
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93 | <para>When using the VirtualBox extension pack provided by Oracle
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94 | for VRDP remote desktop support, RDP data can optionally be
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95 | encrypted. See <xref linkend="vrde-crypt" /> for details. Only
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96 | the Enhanced RDP Security method (RDP5.2) with TLS protocol
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97 | provides a secure connection. Standard RDP Security (RDP4 and
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98 | RDP5.1) is vulnerable to a man-in-the-middle attack.</para>
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99 | </listitem>
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100 | </itemizedlist></para>
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101 | </sect1>
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102 | </chapter>
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