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Vm VirtualboxApplication · Oracle

CVE-2021-2443

HIGH · 7.3 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-07-21
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 6.1.24 or later.
See remediation →
75/100
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). The supported version that is affected is Prior to 6.1.24. 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 ability to cause a hang or frequently repeatable crash (complete DOS) of Oracle VM VirtualBox as well as unauthorized update, insert or delete access to some of Oracle VM VirtualBox accessible data and unauthorized read access to a subset of Oracle VM VirtualBox accessible data. Note: This vulnerability applies to Solaris x86 and Linux systems only. CVSS 3.1 Base Score 7.3 (Confidentiality, Integrity and Availability impacts). CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/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 vulnerability in Oracle VM VirtualBox Core component affecting versions prior to 6.1.24 on Solaris x86 and Linux systems. Allows high-privileged attacker with local system access to cause complete DoS (hang or crash) and gain unauthorized read/update/delete access to some VirtualBox data via unspecified vectors.

MitigationUpgrade VirtualBox to version 6.1.24 or later. This is a local vulnerability requiring high-privileged attacker access; ensure least-privilege principles and monitor for suspicious local activity.

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:< 6.1.24

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
Low
Integrity
Low
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/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 command: which VBoxManage or dpkg -l | grep virtualbox or rpm -q VirtualBox (Linux); pkginfo -l VirtualBox (Solaris)
    Affected if VirtualBox is not installed, then not affected
  2. Identify the installed VirtualBox version
    Run: VBoxManage --version
    Affected if Version number is returned, proceed to next check; if not found, VirtualBox may not be functional
  3. Confirm the operating system is an affected platform
    Run: uname -a to check if Linux or Solaris x86
    Affected if System is Linux or Solaris x86 - only these platforms are affected per the CVE; other OSes are not affected
  4. Compare installed version against the vulnerable range
    Compare the version from VBoxManage --version to 6.1.24; versions below 6.1.24 are vulnerable
    Affected if Installed version is less than 6.1.24 (e.g., 6.1.22, 6.1.0, 5.x) on Linux or Solaris x86 - the environment is affected

Environment is affected if VirtualBox version is installed and is lower than 6.1.24 on a Linux or Solaris x86 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 6.1.24 or later
Fixed in 6.1.24
Interim mitigation

Upgrade VirtualBox to version 6.1.24 or later. This is a local vulnerability requiring high-privileged attacker access; ensure least-privilege principles and monitor for suspicious local activity.

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-2021-2443 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