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Vm VirtualboxApplication · Oracle

CVE-2021-2131

MEDIUM · 6.0 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-01-20
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 6.1.18 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 6.1.18. 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 creation, deletion or modification access to critical data or all Oracle VM VirtualBox accessible data. CVSS 3.1 Base Score 6.0 (Integrity impacts). CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:H/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

CVE-2021-2131 is a vulnerability in Oracle VM VirtualBox's Core component affecting versions prior to 6.1.18. It is a local attack requiring high privileges that results in unauthorized integrity modifications to data accessible by VirtualBox. The changed scope means attacks may impact additional products beyond VirtualBox itself.

MitigationUpgrade Oracle VM VirtualBox to version 6.1.18 or later to remediate this vulnerability. Since the vulnerability requires high privileges and local access, ensure proper access controls and privilege separation are in place until the upgrade is applied.

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:< 6.1.18

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
None
Integrity
High
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:H/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. Check if Oracle VM VirtualBox is installed
    On Windows: Open Control Panel > Programs and Features, or run 'Get-ItemProperty HKLM:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\* | Select-Object DisplayName, DisplayVersion' in PowerShell. On Linux: Run 'dpkg -l | grep virtualbox' or 'rpm -qa | grep -i virtualbox'. On macOS: Run 'VBoxManage --version' or check /Applications folder.
    Affected if VirtualBox is listed in installed programs
  2. Determine the installed VirtualBox version
    Run 'VBoxManage --version' from command line or terminal. This command returns the exact version number in format like 6.1.16r140961.
    Affected if The command returns a version number
  3. Compare installed version against the vulnerable range
    Compare the version from step 2 to 6.1.18. VirtualBox version numbering follows MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH format. Any version below 6.1.18 (such as 6.1.16, 6.1.14, 6.0.x, 5.x.x) is considered vulnerable.
    Affected if Installed version is less than 6.1.18 (for example, 6.1.16, 6.0.14, etc.)
  4. Verify high-privilege access context
    This vulnerability requires high privileges to exploit. Review who has administrative or root access to the system where VirtualBox is installed, and check if untrusted users could obtain such privileges.
    Affected if Untrusted or low-privilege users can gain high-privilege access to the VirtualBox host system

A user is affected if Oracle VM VirtualBox is installed with a version lower than 6.1.18 and the system has users with high privileges who could be targeted locally.

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 6.1.18 or later
Fixed in 6.1.18
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Oracle VM VirtualBox to version 6.1.18 or later to remediate this vulnerability. Since the vulnerability requires high privileges and local access, ensure proper access controls and privilege separation are in place until the upgrade is applied.

Fix this in Vm Virtualbox Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
12.0 hours of engineering $2,130
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,408.

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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-2021-2131 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