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CVE Record

CVE-2021-2285: Vulnerability in the Oracle VM VirtualBox product of Oracle Virtualization (component: Core).

Vulnerability in the Oracle VM VirtualBox product of Oracle Virtualization (component: Core). The supported version that is affected is Prior to 6.1.20. Easily exploitable vulnerability allows unauthenticated 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. Successful attacks of this vulnerability can result in unauthorized access to critical data or complete access to all Oracle VM VirtualBox accessible data. CVSS 3.1 Base Score 7.1 (Confidentiality impacts). CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:N).

HighCVSS 7.1Not KEV-listedUpdated
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Glexia's TakeAutomated analysishigh

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

CVE-2021-2285 is a high-severity Oracle VM VirtualBox Core vulnerability affecting versions prior to 6.1.20. A person who can log on to infrastructure where VirtualBox runs could access critical data available to VirtualBox. The source bundle does not show active exploitation.

Executive priority

Treat this as a near-term remediation item where VirtualBox is present on shared or sensitive systems. The business risk is unauthorized access to critical data, not service disruption. Prioritize patching and access review over emergency response unless local compromise indicators exist.

Technical view

The CVSS 3.1 vector is AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:N with score 7.1. The issue is locally exploitable, requires no privileges or user interaction, changes scope, and primarily affects confidentiality. No CWE is listed in the provided sources.

Likely exposure

Exposure is most likely on workstations, servers, build hosts, or lab systems running Oracle VM VirtualBox prior to 6.1.20, especially where untrusted or broadly provisioned users can log on to the host infrastructure.

Exploitation context

The attacker needs local logon access to infrastructure where VirtualBox executes. The provided data does not identify remote exploitation, public exploit availability, ransomware use, or CISA KEV listing.

Researcher notes

The bundle gives high-level impact but no root-cause detail, CWE, exploit proof, or workaround beyond version status and vendor advisories. Scope change and confidentiality impact suggest VirtualBox-accessible data may cross expected isolation boundaries.

Mitigation direction

  • Upgrade Oracle VM VirtualBox to 6.1.20 or later where applicable.
  • Review Oracle April 2021 CPU guidance for vendor-specific remediation.
  • Apply Gentoo GLSA-202208-36 guidance for Gentoo-managed systems.
  • Restrict local logon access on hosts running VirtualBox.
  • Prioritize hosts handling sensitive VM data or shared build workloads.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory all systems running Oracle VM VirtualBox.
  • Confirm each VirtualBox version is 6.1.20 or later.
  • Identify users allowed to log on to VirtualBox host infrastructure.
  • Check whether affected hosts process sensitive or regulated data.
  • Review Oracle and Gentoo advisories for platform-specific status.
Prepared
Confidence
high
Sources
4

Public sources used

Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.

Potential ATT&CK relevance

Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context

These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.

ATT&CK lookup starting points

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CVE-2021-2285 mapping review

Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.

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Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
High
CVSS
7.1 (3.1)
Known Exploited
No
Published

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

Official CVE source material

CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5

These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.

1CVSS vectors
0Timeline events
0ADP providers
3Source links

CVSS vector scores

1 official score

We collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.

ScoreVersionSeverityVectorExploitImpactSource
7.1CVSS 3.1HighCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:N2.54Primary CVE score

Vulnerability scoring details

Base CVSS 3.1 score

7.1High
CVSS 3.1 vector shape for CVE-2021-2285Attack VectorAttack ComplexityPrivileges RequiredUser InteractionScopeConfidentiality ImpactIntegrity ImpactAvailability Impact

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

Attack Vector
NetworkAdjacentLocalPhysical
Attack Complexity
LowHigh
Privileges Required
NoneLowHigh
User Interaction
NoneRequired
Scope
ChangedUnchanged
Confidentiality Impact
HighLowNone
Integrity Impact
HighLowNone
Availability Impact
HighLowNone

Source materials

Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
Oracle CorporationVM VirtualBoxunspecifiedListed
Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.