CVE-2026-71127 in VirtualBox
Summary
by MITRE • 08/19/2026
Vulnerability in the Oracle VM VirtualBox product of Oracle Virtualization (component: Core). The supported version that is affected is 7.2.14. 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 ability to cause a hang or frequently repeatable crash (complete DOS) of Oracle VM VirtualBox. CVSS 3.1 Base Score 6.0 (Availability impacts). CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:H).
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/19/2026
The identified vulnerability resides within the core component of Oracle VM VirtualBox, specifically affecting version 7.2.14 and potentially other supported releases depending on the specific code path involved. This flaw represents a significant stability issue that can be leveraged by an attacker with high privileges who has already established logon access to the host infrastructure where the virtualization software is executing. The nature of this vulnerability allows for easy exploitation, meaning that once the necessary authentication and privilege levels are achieved, the technical steps required to trigger the flaw are straightforward and do not require complex chaining or user interaction beyond initial system access. This ease of exploitation lowers the barrier for entry significantly compared to vulnerabilities requiring remote code execution or unauthenticated network attacks, yet it remains a critical concern due to its direct impact on service availability.
From a technical perspective, the vulnerability manifests as a condition that leads to a hang or a frequently repeatable crash of the Oracle VM VirtualBox application itself. This behavior classifies primarily under Denial of Service (DoS) conditions where the integrity and continuity of the virtualization platform are compromised. The operational impact is severe for environments relying on consistent uptime, particularly in production settings where virtual machines host critical workloads. A complete denial of service means that not only does VirtualBox become unresponsive or terminate unexpectedly, but any guest operating systems running within it may also be abruptly halted or corrupted if proper shutdown procedures are bypassed by the crash. This can lead to data loss for unsaved states and requires manual intervention to restore services, disrupting business operations dependent on these virtualized resources.
The scope of this vulnerability extends beyond just the VirtualBox application due to a potential scope change in how the impact is assessed. While the direct target is the hypervisor software, the consequences can ripple out to affect additional products or systems that depend on the stability of the host environment. This interconnectedness highlights the risk inherent in virtualization layers; when the underlying management plane fails, it often cascades into instability for all dependent guest instances. The CVSS 3.1 base score of 6.0 reflects a medium severity rating driven primarily by high availability impacts. The vector string AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:H indicates that the attack requires local access, low complexity, and high privileges, but results in complete loss of availability with no direct impact on confidentiality or integrity at this stage.
In terms of industry standards classification, this vulnerability aligns closely with CWE-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption, as it leads to resource exhaustion resulting in a hang or crash. It also maps to the ATT&CK technique T1529: System Shutdown or Reboot under the Impact tactic, specifically describing actions that disrupt availability rather than steal data or modify configurations. Understanding these mappings helps security teams prioritize remediation efforts based on established threat models and common weakness enumerations used in enterprise vulnerability management programs.
Mitigation strategies should focus primarily on strict access control and privilege separation within the host infrastructure. Since exploitation requires high-privileged logon, enforcing least-privilege principles is paramount. Administrators must ensure that only essential personnel have administrative rights over systems running Oracle VM VirtualBox. Additionally, implementing robust monitoring for abnormal process termination or resource spikes in the hypervisor can aid in early detection of such incidents. Keeping Oracle VM VirtualBox updated to versions where this core flaw has been patched by Oracle is the most effective long-term solution. Until patches are applied, isolating high-risk users from virtualization hosts and ensuring regular backups of guest machine states can mitigate some of the operational risks associated with potential crashes.