dbcve.org
Vm VirtualboxApplication · Oracle

CVE-2020-14628

HIGH · 8.2 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-07-15
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 5.2.44 / 6.0.24 or later.
See remediation →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
Vulnerability in the Oracle VM VirtualBox product of Oracle Virtualization (component: Core). Supported versions that are affected are Prior to 5.2.44, prior to 6.0.24 and prior to 6.1.12. Easily exploitable vulnerability allows high privileged attacker with logon to the infrastructure where Oracle VM VirtualBox executes to compromise Oracle VM VirtualBox. While the vulnerability is in Oracle VM VirtualBox, attacks may significantly impact additional products. Successful attacks of this vulnerability can result in takeover of Oracle VM VirtualBox. Note: The CVE-2020-14628 is applicable to Windows VM only. CVSS 3.1 Base Score 8.2 (Confidentiality, Integrity and Availability impacts). CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H).

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

A vulnerability in the Core component of Oracle VM VirtualBox allows a high-privileged attacker with local logon access to the infrastructure to compromise VirtualBox and achieve takeover. The flaw affects Windows VMs specifically on hosts running VirtualBox versions prior to 5.2.44, 6.0.24, or 6.1.12.

MitigationUpgrade VirtualBox to version 5.2.44, 6.0.24, 6.1.12 or later. EnsureVMs are backed up and test compatibility before production deployment.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Vm VirtualboxApplication
Affected:< 5.2.44>= 6.0.0, < 6.0.24>= 6.1.0, < 6.1.12
LeapOperating system
Affected:= 15.1= 15.2

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
High
User interaction
None
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check if VirtualBox is installed
    Run 'VBoxManage --version' or look for VirtualBox in installed programs. On Windows, check 'C:\Program Files\Oracle\VirtualBox\VBoxManage.exe --version'. On Linux, check package manager or /usr/bin/VBoxManage.
    Affected if VirtualBox is not installed, then not affected
  2. Confirm the installed VirtualBox version
    Execute 'VBoxManage --version' and note the output (format like 6.1.10). If VBoxManage is not in PATH, navigate to the VirtualBox installation directory and run it there.
    Affected if Version cannot be determined, manual inspection needed
  3. Compare version to affected ranges
    Check if the installed version falls into: < 5.2.44, >= 6.0.0 and < 6.0.24, or >= 6.1.0 and < 6.1.12. If version matches any of these ranges, the system is vulnerable.
    Affected if Version is 5.2.44 or higher, 6.0.24 or higher, or 6.1.12 or higher, then NOT affected. All other versions ARE affected.
  4. Verify if Windows VMs are running
    Run 'VBoxManage list vms' to list all VMs, then 'VBoxManage showvminfo <vmname>' to check OS type for each VM. Look for Windows-based guest operating systems.
    Affected if No Windows VMs exist, then vulnerability has no impact despite vulnerable version

A system is affected if VirtualBox is installed with a version less than 5.2.44, between 6.0.0-6.0.23, or between 6.1.0-6.1.11, and Windows VMs are running on that host.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

From vendor data
Upgrade available Upgrade to 5.2.44 / 6.0.24 / 6.1.12 or later
Fixed in 5.2.446.0.246.1.12
Interim mitigation

Upgrade VirtualBox to version 5.2.44, 6.0.24, 6.1.12 or later. EnsureVMs are backed up and test compatibility before production deployment.

Fix this in Vm Virtualbox Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
20.0 hours of engineering $3,440
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,504.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-14628 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2020-14628 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data