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Vm VirtualboxApplication · Oracle

CVE-2020-2908

HIGH · 8.2 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-04-15
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 5.2.40 / 6.0.20 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 5.2.40, prior to 6.0.20 and prior to 6.1.6. 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. CVSS 3.0 Base Score 8.2 (Confidentiality, Integrity and Availability impacts). CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.0/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

Local privilege escalation vulnerability in Oracle VM VirtualBox Core component. Requires high-privileged attacker with local access to the infrastructure where VirtualBox executes. Successful exploitation allows complete takeover of VirtualBox, potentially impacting additional products due to scope change (CVSS scope: changed).

MitigationUpgrade Oracle VM VirtualBox to version 5.2.40 or later, 6.0.20 or later, or 6.1.6 or later depending on the current deployment branch.

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:< 5.2.40>= 6.0.0, < 6.0.20>= 6.1.0, < 6.1.6
LeapOperating system
Affected:= 15.1

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. Verify VirtualBox installation
    Run 'VBoxManage --version' or check for VirtualBox executables in common paths such as /usr/bin/VBoxManage, /opt/VirtualBox/, or on Windows check Program Files/Oracle/VirtualBox
    Affected if VirtualBox is present on the system
  2. Determine installed VirtualBox version
    Execute 'VBoxManage --version' to retrieve the exact version number, or check the application file properties for VBoxSVC.exe or VirtualBoxVM.exe on Windows
    Affected if Version output shows a number lower than the fixed versions (5.2.40, 6.0.20, or 6.1.6)
  3. Confirm version falls within affected ranges
    Compare your installed version against the vulnerable ranges: < 5.2.40, >= 6.0.0 and < 6.0.20, or >= 6.1.0 and < 6.1.6
    Affected if Your version matches any of these ranges
  4. Assess attacker access scenario
    Determine whether untrusted local users or processes have local access to the VirtualBox host environment
    Affected if Untrusted local users can interact with the VirtualBox installation or infrastructure
  5. Check VirtualBox service status
    On Linux run 'systemctl status vboxautostart-service' or 'systemctl status vboxweb-service'; on Windows check if VBoxSVC.exe or VirtualBoxVM.exe processes are running
    Affected if VirtualBox services or processes are active on the system

You are affected if VirtualBox is installed and the installed version is below 5.2.40, between 6.0.0-6.0.19, or between 6.1.0-6.1.5, with untrusted local users having access to the VirtualBox host environment.

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 5.2.40 / 6.0.20 / 6.1.6 or later
Fixed in 5.2.406.0.206.1.6
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Oracle VM VirtualBox to version 5.2.40 or later, 6.0.20 or later, or 6.1.6 or later depending on the current deployment branch.

Fix this in Vm Virtualbox Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
12.0 hours of engineering $2,080
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,328.

Scan for this in your stack

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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-2020-2908 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