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Vm VirtualboxApplication · Oracle

CVE-2026-21989

HIGH · 8.1 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 →
83/100
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 7.1.14 and 7.2.4. 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 (scope change). Successful attacks of this vulnerability can result in unauthorized creation, deletion or modification access to critical data or all Oracle VM VirtualBox accessible data as well as unauthorized access to critical data or complete access to all Oracle VM VirtualBox accessible data and unauthorized ability to cause a partial denial of service (partial DOS) of Oracle VM VirtualBox. CVSS 3.1 Base Score 8.1 (Confidentiality, Integrity and Availability impacts). CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:L).

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 · moderate confidence

CVE-2026-21989 is a vulnerability in the Core component of Oracle VM VirtualBox affecting versions 7.1.14 and 7.2.4. The flaw allows a high-privileged attacker with local access to the infrastructure where VirtualBox executes to compromise the virtualization platform, potentially achieving unauthorized creation, deletion, or modification of critical data, as well as unauthorized access to data and partial denial of service. The CVSS vector indicates a local attack requiring high privileges, but with scope change allowing impact to additional products.

MitigationApply the Oracle security patch for VirtualBox to upgrade to a fixed version beyond 7.2.4, or downgrade to an unaffected version if patching is not immediately feasible. Restrict physical and logical access to the VirtualBox host infrastructure to trusted high-privileged 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
High
User interaction
None
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
Low

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:L

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' or check for VirtualBox installation in common locations such as C:\Program Files\Oracle\VirtualBox (Windows) or /usr/lib/virtualbox (Linux)
    Affected if VirtualBox is not installed on the system
  2. Retrieve the installed VirtualBox version
    Execute 'vboxmanage --version' from command line or inspect the VirtualBox about dialog if using the GUI
    Affected if The command fails or returns no version information
  3. Compare against affected versions
    Compare the installed version number exactly to 7.1.14 or 7.2.4 as listed in the CVE (note the '=' indicates exact version matches)
    Affected if The installed version is exactly 7.1.14 or 7.2.4
  4. Identify high-privileged local users
    Check system for accounts with administrator or root privileges that could exploit this flaw (review local admin group on Windows via 'net localgroup Administrators' or sudo group on Linux via 'getent group sudo' or 'getent group wheel')
    Affected if Multiple high-privileged local users exist beyond the primary administrator

The environment is affected only if VirtualBox is installed and the exact installed version matches 7.1.14 or 7.2.4, combined with the presence of high-privileged local users who could trigger the vulnerability.

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

Apply the Oracle security patch for VirtualBox to upgrade to a fixed version beyond 7.2.4, or downgrade to an unaffected version if patching is not immediately feasible. Restrict physical and logical access to the VirtualBox host infrastructure to trusted high-privileged personnel only.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

VirtualBox 7.1.16 or later / VirtualBox 7.2.6 or later (latest stable release)

  1. 1. Backup all existing VirtualBox virtual machines and configurations
  2. 2. Download the latest stable VirtualBox version from the official Oracle website (https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads)
  3. 3. Uninstall the current VirtualBox version (7.1.14 or 7.2.4)
  4. 4. Install the latest VirtualBox release which contains the security fix
  5. 5. Verify the installation by checking the VirtualBox version in Help > About
  6. 6. Re-register any previously registered VMs if needed
Caveat Review VirtualBox release notes for any configuration or feature changes between versions; some VM settings may need adjustment after upgrade

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
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,720
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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-2026-21989 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