CVE-2024-21121
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 · uneditedVulnerability in the Oracle VM VirtualBox product of Oracle Virtualization (component: Core). Supported versions that are affected are Prior to 7.0.16. Easily exploitable 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 unauthorized access to critical data or complete access to all Oracle VM VirtualBox accessible data. CVSS 3.1 Base Score 6.5 (Confidentiality impacts). CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/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 confidenceOracle VM VirtualBox contains a vulnerability in its Core component affecting versions prior to 7.0.16. A low-privileged attacker with local access to the infrastructure where VirtualBox runs can exploit this to gain unauthorized access to critical data. The scope change indicates the attack may impact additional products beyond VirtualBox itself.
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< 7.0.16CVSS 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
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify VirtualBox installationRun 'vboxmanage --version' from command line, or check Programs and Features on Windows, or 'dpkg -l | grep virtualbox' on LinuxAffected if Version number returned is lower than 7.0.16 or the package is not found but VirtualBox software exists
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Confirm VirtualBox is actively runningCheck running processes: 'tasklist | findstr VirtualBox' on Windows, or 'ps aux | grep -i vbox' on Linux, or check VirtualBox VM service statusAffected if VirtualBox components are currently running on the system
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Verify low-privileged user accessCheck which user accounts exist on the host system and their privilege levels using 'whoami' and system user management toolsAffected if Non-administrator or low-privileged user accounts have local access to the VirtualBox host machine
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Check for critical data in VM environmentsInspect running virtual machines and their shared folders, clipboard settings, or guest additions configurations that may expose host dataAffected if VirtualBox VMs are configured with features that could expose critical host data to guest systems
The environment is affected if VirtualBox version is below 7.0.16 and low-privileged users have local access to the host running VirtualBox components.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 · scoped7.0.16
Upgrade Oracle VM VirtualBox to version 7.0.16 or later to remediate this vulnerability.
VirtualBox 7.0.16
- 1. Check current VirtualBox version by opening VirtualBox and navigating to Help > About VirtualBox, or running 'VBoxManage --version' from command line
- 2. Download VirtualBox 7.0.16 from the official Oracle website (https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads)
- 3. Close all VirtualBox applications and virtual machines
- 4. Run the VirtualBox installer for version 7.0.16
- 5. Follow the installation wizard prompts to complete the update
- 6. After installation, verify the version by checking Help > About VirtualBox or running 'VBoxManage --version' to confirm 7.0.16 is installed
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,072.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2024-21121 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2024-21121 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- 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