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Vulnerabilities

CVE-2026-21989

High
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
Published: Jan 20, 2026  ·  Modified: Feb 28, 2026  ·  Source: NVD
CVSS v3
8.1
🔗 NVD Official
📄 Description (English)

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).

🤖 AI Executive Summary

Oracle VM VirtualBox versions 7.1.14 and 7.2.4 contain a high-severity privilege escalation vulnerability (CVSS 8.1) allowing authenticated high-privileged attackers to compromise the hypervisor and access all virtualized data. The vulnerability has scope change implications, potentially affecting guest VMs and host systems. Immediate patching is critical for Saudi organizations running virtualized infrastructure.

📄 Description (Arabic)

🤖 AI Intelligence Analysis Analyzed: Apr 26, 2026 06:55
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia Impact Assessment
High impact on Saudi government agencies (NCA, NCSC), financial institutions (SAMA-regulated banks, payment processors), healthcare providers (MOH), energy sector (ARAMCO, SEC), and telecommunications (STC, Mobily). Organizations using VirtualBox for critical infrastructure virtualization, development environments, and cloud services face significant risk of data breach, VM escape attacks, and service disruption. The scope change means attackers could pivot from compromised VMs to the host system and other virtualized assets.
🏢 Affected Saudi Sectors
Government (NCA, NCSC, Ministry of Interior) Banking and Financial Services (SAMA-regulated institutions) Healthcare (Ministry of Health, private hospitals) Energy (ARAMCO, SEC) Telecommunications (STC, Mobily, Zain) Education (Universities, research institutions) Cloud Service Providers Data Centers
⚖️ Saudi Risk Score (AI)
8.4
/ 10.0
🔧 Remediation Steps (English)
IMMEDIATE ACTIONS:
1. Identify all systems running VirtualBox 7.1.14 or 7.2.4 using asset inventory and vulnerability scanning tools
2. Restrict administrative access to VirtualBox hosts to essential personnel only
3. Implement network segmentation isolating VirtualBox infrastructure from critical systems
4. Enable audit logging for all VirtualBox administrative activities

PATCHING GUIDANCE:
1. Apply Oracle security patches to VirtualBox 7.1.x (update to 7.1.15+) and 7.2.x (update to 7.2.5+) immediately
2. Test patches in non-production environments first
3. Schedule patching during maintenance windows with VM migration planning
4. Verify patch application using Oracle's verification tools

COMPENSATING CONTROLS (if patching delayed):
1. Disable VirtualBox remote management interfaces
2. Implement host-based firewall rules restricting VirtualBox service access
3. Monitor VirtualBox process execution and privilege escalation attempts
4. Enforce mandatory access controls (MAC) on VirtualBox binaries

DETECTION RULES:
1. Monitor for unauthorized VirtualBox administrative API calls
2. Alert on privilege escalation attempts within VirtualBox processes
3. Track modifications to VM configuration files and memory access patterns
4. Log all VirtualBox service restarts and unexpected process terminations
🔧 خطوات المعالجة (العربية)
الإجراءات الفورية:
1. تحديد جميع الأنظمة التي تعمل بـ VirtualBox 7.1.14 أو 7.2.4 باستخدام أدوات جرد الأصول والمسح الضعيف
2. تقييد الوصول الإداري إلى مضيفي VirtualBox للموظفين الأساسيين فقط
3. تنفيذ تقسيم الشبكة لعزل بنية VirtualBox عن الأنظمة الحرجة
4. تفعيل تسجيل التدقيق لجميع أنشطة إدارة VirtualBox

إرشادات التصحيح:
1. تطبيق تصحيحات أمان Oracle على VirtualBox 7.1.x (التحديث إلى 7.1.15+) و 7.2.x (التحديث إلى 7.2.5+) فوراً
2. اختبار التصحيحات في بيئات غير الإنتاج أولاً
3. جدولة التصحيح خلال نوافذ الصيانة مع تخطيط هجرة VM
4. التحقق من تطبيق التصحيح باستخدام أدوات التحقق من Oracle

الضوابط البديلة (إذا تأخر التصحيح):
1. تعطيل واجهات إدارة VirtualBox البعيدة
2. تنفيذ قواعد جدار الحماية على مستوى المضيف تقيد الوصول إلى خدمة VirtualBox
3. مراقبة تنفيذ عملية VirtualBox ومحاولات تصعيد الامتيازات
4. فرض الضوابط الإلزامية على ملفات VirtualBox الثنائية

قواعد الكشف:
1. مراقبة استدعاءات API الإدارية غير المصرح بها في VirtualBox
2. التنبيه على محاولات تصعيد الامتيازات ضمن عمليات VirtualBox
3. تتبع التعديلات على ملفات تكوين VM وأنماط الوصول إلى الذاكرة
4. تسجيل جميع إعادة تشغيل خدمة VirtualBox وإنهاء العملية غير المتوقع
📋 Regulatory Compliance Mapping
🟢 NCA ECC 2024
ECC 2024 A.5.1.1 - Information security policies and procedures ECC 2024 A.8.1.1 - User access management and privilege control ECC 2024 A.12.2.1 - Change management procedures ECC 2024 A.12.6.1 - Management of technical vulnerabilities
🔵 SAMA CSF
SAMA CSF ID.AM-2 - Hardware and software assets are catalogued SAMA CSF PR.AC-1 - Identities and credentials are issued and managed SAMA CSF PR.PT-2 - Removable media is protected and its use restricted SAMA CSF DE.CM-8 - Vulnerability scans are performed
🟡 ISO 27001:2022
ISO 27001:2022 A.5.23 - Information security for supplier relationships ISO 27001:2022 A.8.1 - User endpoint devices ISO 27001:2022 A.8.2 - Privileged access rights ISO 27001:2022 A.12.6.1 - Management of technical vulnerabilities
🟣 PCI DSS v4.0.1
PCI DSS 6.2 - Security patches must be installed within defined timeframe PCI DSS 7.1 - Limit access to system components by business need-to-know PCI DSS 10.2 - Implement automated audit trails for all system components
📦 Affected Products / CPE 2 entries
oracle:vm_virtualbox:7.1.14
oracle:vm_virtualbox:7.2.4
📊 CVSS Score
8.1
/ 10.0 — High
📊 CVSS Vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:L
Attack VectorL — Low / Local
Attack ComplexityL — Low / Local
Privileges RequiredH — High
User InteractionN — None / Network
ScopeC — Changed
ConfidentialityH — High
IntegrityH — High
AvailabilityL — Low / Local
📋 Quick Facts
Severity High
CVSS Score8.1
EPSS0.02%
Exploit No
Patch ✓ Yes
Published 2026-01-20
Source Feed nvd
Views 5
🇸🇦 Saudi Risk Score
8.4
/ 10.0 — Saudi Risk
Priority: CRITICAL
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