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Vm VirtualboxApplication · Oracle

CVE-2023-21987

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-04-18
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 6.1.44 / 7.0.8 or later.
See remediation →
80/100
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 6.1.44 and Prior to 7.0.8. Difficult to exploit vulnerability allows low 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 (scope change). Successful attacks of this vulnerability can result in takeover of Oracle VM VirtualBox. CVSS 3.1 Base Score 7.8 (Confidentiality, Integrity and Availability impacts). CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/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

Oracle VM VirtualBox contains a local privilege escalation vulnerability in the Core component affecting versions prior to 6.1.44 and 7.0.8. The flaw requires an authenticated low-privileged user with local access to the VirtualBox host infrastructure to exploit, and involves high attack complexity. Successful exploitation grants the attacker complete takeover of the VirtualBox environment, with potential scope expansion to impact additional products.

MitigationUpgrade Oracle VM VirtualBox to version 6.1.44, 7.0.8, or later. Given the high CVSS score and local privilege escalation nature, prioritize patching for systems where untrusted users have host access.

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:< 6.1.44>= 7.0.0, < 7.0.8

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
High
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/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 is installed
    Run 'VBoxManage --version' from a command prompt or terminal. If the command is not found, VirtualBox is not installed.
    Affected if VirtualBox is installed on the system
  2. Determine the installed VirtualBox version
    Execute 'VBoxManage --version' and note the version number displayed (for example, 7.0.6 or 6.1.42).
    Affected if The version shown is lower than 6.1.44 or is 7.0.0 through 7.0.7
  3. Confirm low-privileged user access to the host
    Review which local user accounts exist on the VirtualBox host and verify whether any unauthenticated or low-privileged users have interactive logon rights to the system.
    Affected if Untrusted or low-privileged users have the ability to log on locally to the VirtualBox host machine
  4. Verify VirtualBox services are running
    Check if the VirtualBox system service is active. On Windows, open Services and look for 'Oracle VM VirtualBox' or run 'sc query vboxsvc'. On Linux, check for vboxweb-service or related processes.
    Affected if VirtualBox services are running on the host

The environment is affected if VirtualBox is installed with a version below 6.1.44 or between 7.0.0 and 7.0.7, AND untrusted low-privileged users have local access to the host machine.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 6.1.44 / 7.0.8 or later
Fixed in 6.1.447.0.8
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Oracle VM VirtualBox to version 6.1.44, 7.0.8, or later. Given the high CVSS score and local privilege escalation nature, prioritize patching for systems where untrusted users have host access.

Recommended fix High confidence

VirtualBox 6.1.44 (or later 6.1.x) or VirtualBox 7.0.8 (or later 7.0.x)

  1. 1. Backup all virtual machines and VirtualBox configuration data before proceeding with the upgrade
  2. 2. Ensure all running virtual machines are powered off gracefully
  3. 3. Download the latest VirtualBox version for your host operating system from the official Oracle VirtualBox website (https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads)
  4. 4. For VirtualBox 6.1.x users: Upgrade to version 6.1.44 or later
  5. 5. For VirtualBox 7.0.x users: Upgrade to version 7.0.8 or later
  6. 6. Run the installer with appropriate administrator/root privileges
  7. 7. After installation completes, verify the installed version matches the expected patched version
  8. 8. Test that existing virtual machines start and function correctly
Caveat VirtualBox major version upgrades may introduce compatibility changes with guest additions or existing VM configurations; review VirtualBox release notes before upgrading across major versions

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Vm Virtualbox Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,570
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,512.

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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-2023-21987 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