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Vm VirtualboxApplication · Oracle

CVE-2025-21533

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-01-21
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 7.0.24 / 7.1.6 or later.
See remediation →
57/100
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). Supported versions that are affected are Prior to 7.0.24 and prior to 7.1.6. Easily exploitable vulnerability allows low privileged attacker with logon to the infrastructure where Oracle VM VirtualBox executes to compromise Oracle VM VirtualBox. 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 5.5 (Confidentiality impacts). CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/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 confidence

Oracle VM VirtualBox contains a vulnerability in its Core component that allows a low-privileged attacker with local access to the infrastructure to gain unauthorized high confidentiality access to data accessible by VirtualBox. The vulnerability affects versions prior to 7.0.24 and 7.1.6. Exploitation is local (AV:L), low complexity, and requires no user interaction.

MitigationUpgrade Oracle VM VirtualBox to version 7.0.24, 7.1.6, or later to remediate this vulnerability. In enterprise environments, validate the upgrade in a staging environment before production deployment.

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:>= 7.0.0, < 7.0.24>= 7.1.0, < 7.1.6

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
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify VirtualBox installation
    Run 'vboxmanage --version' on the command line. On Windows, you can also check Programs and Features or the VirtualBox application Help > About. On Linux, check the package manager (dpkg -l | grep virtualbox or rpm -qa | grep VirtualBox).
    Affected if VirtualBox is installed and the version is shown
  2. Compare installed version against affected ranges
    Check if the version output from step 1 falls within 7.0.0 to 7.0.23, or 7.1.0 to 7.1.5. These are the vulnerable version ranges.
    Affected if Version is 7.0.x where x is less than 24, or 7.1.x where x is less than 6
  3. Verify VirtualBox is running or configured
    Run 'vboxmanage list vms' to see if any virtual machines are configured, or check if the VirtualBox service is active. This indicates VirtualBox is in use.
    Affected if VirtualBox is actively configured or running on the system
  4. Assess local access exposure
    Determine if untrusted local users have access to the VirtualBox host system. The vulnerability requires local access to the infrastructure.
    Affected if Untrusted users can log into the host machine where VirtualBox is installed

You are affected if VirtualBox version is 7.0.0 through 7.0.23 or 7.1.0 through 7.1.5, and untrusted local users can access the host 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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 7.0.24 / 7.1.6 or later
Fixed in 7.0.247.1.6
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Oracle VM VirtualBox to version 7.0.24, 7.1.6, or later to remediate this vulnerability. In enterprise environments, validate the upgrade in a staging environment before production deployment.

Recommended fix High confidence

7.0.24 or 7.1.6 (whichever is the latest in your minor release line)

  1. 1. Check current VirtualBox version by opening VirtualBox and going to Help > About, or running 'vboxmanage --version'
  2. 2. Download the appropriate fixed version (7.0.24 or 7.1.6) from the official Oracle website: https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads
  3. 3. Ensure all virtual machines are powered off and backed up if necessary
  4. 4. Install the new version, overwriting the existing installation
  5. 5. After installation, verify the version matches the fixed release (7.0.24 or 7.1.6)
Caveat Minor version upgrades typically preserve VM configurations; however, always backup VM images before upgrading

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
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,380
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,808.

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-2025-21533 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