What is virtual machine escape?

Virtual machine escape is an exploit in which the attacker runs code on a VM that allows an operating system running within it to break out and interact directly with the hypervisor. Such an exploit could give the attacker access to the host operating system and all other virtual machines (VMs) running on that host. Although there have been no incidents reported, VM escape is considered to be the most serious threat to virtual machine security. Virtual machines are designed to run in self-contained, isolated environments in the host. Each VM should be, in effect, a separate system, isolated from the host operating system and any other VMs running on the same machine. The hypervisor is an intermediary between the host operating system and virtual machines. It controls the host processor and allocates resources as required to each guest operating system. Here's Ed Skoudis' explanation of the risk: "If the attacker can compromise the virtual machines, they will likely have control of all of the guests, since the guests are merely subsets of the program itself. Also, most virtual machines run with very high privileges on the host because a virtual machine needs comprehensive access to the host's hardware so it can then map the real hardware into virtualized hardware for the guests. Thus, compromising the virtual machine means not only that the guests are goners, but the host is also likely lost." To minimize vulnerability to VM escape, Skoudis recommends that you:

Keep virtual machine software patched. Install only the resource-sharing features that you really need. Keep software installations to a minimum because each program brings its own vulnerabilities.

Cloudburst VM escape
Cloudburst virtual machine escape is an exploit method that enables a guest-level virtual machine (VM) to attack its host. The method takes advantage of a flaw in VMware Workstation working in conjunction with Cloudburst, IBM's cloud service provisioning software for cloud providers. In a virtual machine escape, an attacker runs code on a VM that allows an operating system running within it to break out and interact directly with the hypervisor. A VM escape gives the attacker access to the host operating system and all other virtual machines running on that host. Research firm Kostya Kortchinsky Immunity Inc. developed the Cloudburst VM escape method.

virtual appliance
A virtual appliance (VA) is a virtual machine (VM) image file consisting of a pre-configured operating system (OS) environment and a single application. The purpose of a virtual appliance is to simplify delivery and operation of an application. To this end, only necessary operating system components are included. A virtual appliance can be deployed as a VM or a subset of a virtual machine running on virtualization technology, such as VMware Workstation. Deploying an application as a virtual appliance can eliminate

problems with installation and configuration, such as software or driver compatibility issues. Users can simply download a single file and run the application. Resources required for maintenance are also reduced. Virtual appliances have proven useful in deploying network applications. They are also helpful in grid computing, where they can solve problems introduced by heterogeneous hardware and operating systems, and in the Software as a Service (SaaS) delivery model, where the simplicity of the virtual appliance can help improve economies of scale. There are two types of virtual appliances, closed and open. A closed VA is always packaged, distributed, maintained, updated and managed as a unit. An open VA is accessible to customers for modifications. Developers can include a Web interface for custom configurations or delivering patches and updates. Virtual appliances are a subset of the broader class of software appliances

Parallel Virtual Machine (PVM)

Parallel Virtual Machine (PVM) is a program that enables distributed computing among networked computers on different platforms, so that they can perform as a single, large unit for computer-intensive applications. The software can be run on most Unix-based or Windows systems. According to the official Web site, PVM is the de facto standard, world-wide, for distributed computing. PVM source code is freely available. PVM was created at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in 1989 and was rewritten in 1991 at the University of Tennessee. Newer versions developed since that time offer improved portability and fault tolerance. The PVM package has become popular for teaching computer science and programming students how distributed computing and parallel processing work. The software has been used extensively to solve problems in science, medicine, technology and engineering that have proven too complex for individual computers. PVM also enables a level of computational accuracy beyond the ability of a single computer.

virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI)

Virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) is the practice of hosting a desktop operating system within a virtual machine (VM) running on a centralized server. VDI is a variation on the client/server computing model, sometimes referred to as server-based computing. The term was coined by VMware Inc. In the past couple of years, some large organizations have turned to VDI as an alternative to the server-based computing model used by Citrix and Microsoft Terminal Services.