# CVE-2023-21886: Code injection in VM VirtualBox

> An unauthenticated attacker can compromise Oracle VM VirtualBox via network access, leading to full system takeover.

- **Severity:** High 8.1 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 17 Jan 2023
- **Updated:** 13 Feb 2025
- **Also known as:** GHSA-mvqh-rjw3-3ppc, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-21886

## What is CVE-2023-21886?

CVE-2023-21886 is a high-severity code injection vulnerability in Oracle Vm Virtualbox, published on 17 Jan 2023. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Vulnerability in the Oracle VM VirtualBox product of Oracle Virtualization (component: Core).  Supported versions that are affected are Prior to 6.1.42 and  prior to 7.0.6. Difficult to exploit vulnerability allows unauthenticated attacker with network access via multiple protocols to compromise Oracle VM VirtualBox.  Successful attacks of this vulnerability can result in takeover of Oracle VM VirtualBox. CVSS 3.1 Base Score 8.1 (Confidentiality, Integrity and Availability impacts).  CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H).

Weakness: CWE-94 (Improper Control of Generation of Code)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-21886?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Oracle Vm Virtualbox.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-21886?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2023-21886 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-21886 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Oracle Vm Virtualbox

- [CVE-2016-5605](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-5605/): Unspecified vulnerability in the Oracle VM VirtualBox component before 5.1.4 in Oracle Virtualization allows remote attackers to affect conf (critical 9.1)
- [CVE-2018-3294](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-3294/): Privilege escalation in VM VirtualBox (critical 9.0)
- [CVE-2024-21112](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-21112/): Privilege escalation in VM VirtualBox (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2024-21113](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-21113/): Privilege escalation in VM VirtualBox (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2024-21114](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-21114/): Privilege escalation in VM VirtualBox (high 8.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-21886 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-21886 is a high-severity code injection vulnerability in Oracle Vm Virtualbox, published on 17 Jan 2023. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-21886 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Oracle Vm Virtualbox. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-21886/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-21886/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-21886
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-21886
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-21886

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-21886/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.