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Vm VirtualboxApplication · Oracle

CVE-2020-14881

MEDIUM · 6.0 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-10-21
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 6.1.16 or later.
See remediation →
62/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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). The supported version that is affected is Prior to 6.1.16. 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 unauthorized access to critical data or complete access to all Oracle VM VirtualBox accessible data. CVSS 3.1 Base Score 6.0 (Confidentiality impacts). CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:N).

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

Oracle VM VirtualBox before version 6.1.16 contains a vulnerability in its Core component that allows a high-privileged attacker with local access to the infrastructure to gain unauthorized access to critical data or all accessible data. The attack requires the attacker to already have high-level privileges and local logon access, resulting in high confidentiality impact despite no availability or integrity impact.

MitigationUpgrade Oracle VM VirtualBox to version 6.1.16 or later. Since this is a local privilege escalation requiring high-privileged access, ensure proper access controls and monitoring are in place for systems running VirtualBox.

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:< 6.1.16

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
None
Availability
None

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

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. Identify if VirtualBox is installed
    Run 'VBoxManage --version' on the system to retrieve the installed VirtualBox version. On Windows, you can also check Programs and Features or run 'C:\Program Files\Oracle\VirtualBox\VBoxManage.exe --version'. On Linux, check '/usr/bin/VBoxManage --version' or via package manager.
    Affected if VirtualBox is installed and the version number returned is lower than 6.1.16 (e.g., 6.1.14, 6.1.0, 6.0.x, etc.)
  2. Verify VirtualBox service or process is running
    Check if the VirtualBox service is active. On Windows, run 'sc query vbox' or check Task Manager for VBoxSVC.exe. On Linux, run 'ps aux | grep -i vbox' or check systemd services.
    Affected if VirtualBox software is actively installed and running on the system, combined with version < 6.1.16
  3. Confirm local user privileges on the host
    Review local user accounts and their privilege levels. On Windows, use 'net user' or ' lusrmgr.msc'. On Linux, check '/etc/passwd' or use 'id <username>' for each account with local console access.
    Affected if Any user account besides the primary administrator has elevated or high-privilege access to the system where VirtualBox is installed, and VirtualBox version is below 6.1.16

You are affected if Oracle VM VirtualBox is installed with a version lower than 6.1.16 AND an attacker could obtain high-privilege access combined with local logon to the host system.

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 6.1.16 or later
Fixed in 6.1.16
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Oracle VM VirtualBox to version 6.1.16 or later. Since this is a local privilege escalation requiring high-privileged access, ensure proper access controls and monitoring are in place for systems running VirtualBox.

Fix this in Vm Virtualbox Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
7.0 hours of engineering $1,210
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,936.

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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-2020-14881 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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