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Vm VirtualboxApplication · Oracle

CVE-2026-21986

HIGH · 7.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-01-20
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
76/100
Remediation priority · High
No privileges 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 7.1.14 and 7.2.4. Easily exploitable vulnerability allows unauthenticated 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 ability to cause a hang or frequently repeatable crash (complete DOS) of Oracle VM VirtualBox. Note: This vulnerability applies to Windows VMs only. CVSS 3.1 Base Score 7.1 (Availability impacts). CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/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

A denial of service vulnerability in Oracle VM VirtualBox Core component allows an unauthenticated attacker with local logon access to the infrastructure where VirtualBox executes to cause a hang or complete crash of VirtualBox. The vulnerability specifically affects Windows VMs running on VirtualBox versions 7.1.14 and 7.2.4. The attack is low complexity, requires no privileges or user interaction, and can impact additional products beyond VirtualBox due to scope change.

MitigationApply vendor-supplied patches for VirtualBox versions 7.1.14 and 7.2.4 (or update to later patched versions). Until patched, restrict physical and logical access to the infrastructure where VirtualBox executes to trusted personnel only.

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:= 7.1.14= 7.2.4

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/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
    Check for VirtualBox installation. On Windows, look in Program Files/Oracle/VirtualBox or check for VirtualBox.exe in common locations. On Linux, run 'which VBoxManage' or check /usr/lib/virtualbox. On macOS, check /Applications for VirtualBox.app.
    Affected if VirtualBox is installed on the system
  2. Determine the installed VirtualBox version
    Run 'VBoxManage --version' from command line, or check the About section in the VirtualBox GUI. Alternatively, check the version in Windows Add/Remove Programs, or Linux package manager (dpkg -l virtualbox or rpm -qi VirtualBox).
    Affected if The installed version is exactly 7.1.14 or exactly 7.2.4
  3. Confirm Windows VMs are running on the VirtualBox host
    Run 'VBoxManage list vms' to list all VMs, then 'VBoxManage showvminfo <vmname>' for each to check the OS type. Look for ostype containing 'Windows'. Also check running VMs with 'VBoxManage list runningvms'.
    Affected if Any Windows-based VMs are configured or running on the affected VirtualBox installation
  4. Assess physical and logical access to the VirtualBox host
    Review who has local logon access to the machine hosting VirtualBox. Check local user accounts, remote access permissions, and physical security of the host system.
    Affected if Untrusted or unauthorized users have local logon access to the VirtualBox host server

The environment is affected if VirtualBox version 7.1.14 or 7.2.4 is installed and hosts Windows VMs, with untrusted users having local access to the VirtualBox infrastructure.

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
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply vendor-supplied patches for VirtualBox versions 7.1.14 and 7.2.4 (or update to later patched versions). Until patched, restrict physical and logical access to the infrastructure where VirtualBox executes to trusted personnel only.

Fix this in Vm Virtualbox Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
21.0 hours of engineering $3,680
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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-2026-21986 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
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  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data