Re:Transmission BitTorrent app contained malware
by nevir on Sunday March 06, 2016 @02:49PM
(#11235236)
Unsure if there are any currently publicly known exploits, but it sure isn't unheard of for VirtualBox:
* http://arstechnica.com/security/2015/05/extremely-serious-vi...
* http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/495095
* https://www.cert.be/advisories/oracle-vm-virtualbox-two-priv...
* http://www.coresecurity.com/content/virtualbox-privilege-esc...
Re:Transmission BitTorrent app contained malware
by startling on Sunday March 06, 2016 @05:42PM
(#11235941)
"Requires a 0-day" is still a huge barrier. It's not 100% secure, sure, but it's an improvement.
Re:Transmission BitTorrent app contained malware
by nevir on Monday March 07, 2016 @12:26AM
(#11237291)
Yeah, not arguing that. Just don't treat it like a panacea
Re:Transmission BitTorrent app contained malware
by brians on Monday March 07, 2016 @12:04AM
(#11237205)
Yes! Some reliable ways to extract an RSA key, and some less reliable ways to swap two cache lines. Virtualization on x86 is a helpful tool for configuration management, but should not be mistaken for a security feature.
The way I see it, they're more secure that running the same apps on bare metal. Ubuntu host running a Fedora VM; the latter (with Transmission etc) only running when I need the apps running - seems an almost entirely painless way of providing a lot of security.