CompTIA CASP+ Practice Test

In a virtualized environment, what does a VMEscape attack exploit?

1. Weak passwords

2. Insider threats

3. Hypervisor vulnerabilities

4. Application flaws

The correct answer is: Hypervisor vulnerabilities

A VMEscape attack specifically targets the hypervisor by exploiting vulnerabilities within it. The hypervisor, also known as a virtual machine monitor (VMM), is the layer of software that enables virtualization by managing multiple virtual machines (VMs) on a host server. When an attacker successfully carries out a VMEscape, they are able to break out of the confines of their assigned virtual machine and gain unauthorized access to the host system or other virtual machines. This type of attack is particularly concerning because it can disrupt the isolation that virtualization technology is supposed to provide. If a hypervisor is compromised, an attacker could potentially manipulate or access sensitive data across multiple virtual machines on the same host, thus significantly elevating the impact of the breach. In contrast, while weak passwords, insider threats, and application flaws can pose significant security risks, they do not characterize the nature of a VMEscape attack, which is distinctively focused on exploiting the integrity and security of the hypervisor itself.