CVE-2026-87280 in VirtualBox
Summary
by MITRE • 09/16/2026
Vulnerability in the Oracle VM VirtualBox product of Oracle Virtualization (component: Core). The supported version that is affected is 7.2.16. Easily exploitable vulnerability allows high privileged attacker with logon to the infrastructure where Oracle VM VirtualBox executes to compromise Oracle VM VirtualBox. Successful attacks require human interaction from a person other than the attacker. 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 4.2 (Availability impacts). CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H).
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/16/2026
The identified vulnerability resides within the core component of Oracle VM VirtualBox, specifically affecting version 7.2.16 and potentially other supported releases in that lineage. This flaw represents a significant stability issue rather than a direct privilege escalation or data exfiltration risk, as indicated by its classification under availability impacts with a CVSS v3.1 base score of 4.2. The vulnerability is characterized by an easily exploitable condition that leads to complete denial of service through hang conditions or repeatable crashes of the VirtualBox application itself. It is critical to note that exploitation requires high privileged access, meaning the attacker must already possess administrative-level credentials on the host infrastructure where Oracle VM VirtualBox is executing. This prerequisite significantly limits the attack surface compared to remote code execution vulnerabilities but does not eliminate the risk for organizations with compromised internal systems or insider threats operating at elevated privilege levels.
The operational impact of this vulnerability centers entirely on service availability and system stability. A successful exploit results in the termination or unresponsiveness of the Oracle VM VirtualBox process, which can disrupt virtual machine operations hosted by that instance. For environments relying heavily on continuous uptime for development, testing, or production workloads running within these virtual machines, such crashes introduce substantial operational friction. The requirement for human interaction from a person other than the attacker suggests that the vulnerability may be triggered through specific user actions, such as opening certain types of files, interacting with particular guest operating system behaviors, or executing specific commands within the virtual environment. This social engineering aspect implies that while technical controls are necessary, awareness training regarding suspicious file handling and application interactions remains a vital layer of defense against this specific threat vector.
From a classification perspective, this vulnerability aligns closely with CWE-400, which covers Uncontrolled Resource Consumption leading to Denial of Service. The repeatable nature of the crash indicates that an attacker can systematically disrupt services without needing complex exploit chains or zero-day techniques beyond triggering the specific flawed code path. In terms of the MITRE ATT&CK framework, this behavior corresponds to T1499 Endpoint Denial of Service, where the objective is to degrade or destroy the availability of compute resources on a targeted system. The low attack complexity and local access requirements place it within the context of lateral movement scenarios if an attacker has already breached perimeter defenses and obtained high-privilege credentials on the host machine.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability primarily involve patch management and operational hardening. Oracle should be consulted to apply any available updates that address the core component flaw in version 7.2.16 or later versions where such issues have been resolved. In environments where immediate patching is not feasible, restricting high-privileged access to systems running VirtualBox becomes paramount. Implementing strict least privilege principles ensures that fewer accounts possess the necessary permissions to trigger this vulnerability. Additionally, deploying application whitelisting and monitoring tools can help detect anomalous processes or unexpected terminations of the VirtualBox executable, allowing for rapid incident response before widespread disruption occurs. Regular backups of virtual machine configurations and data are also recommended to minimize downtime in the event that a crash cannot be prevented through software updates alone.