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CVE Record

CVE-2021-2454: 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 6.1.24. Difficult to exploit vulnerability allows low privileged attacker with logon to the infrastructure where Oracle VM VirtualBox executes to compromise Oracle VM VirtualBox. Successful attacks of this vulnerability can result in takeover of Oracle VM VirtualBox. CVSS 3.1 Base Score 7.0 (Confidentiality, Integrity and Availability impacts). CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H).

HighCVSS 7Not KEV-listedUpdated
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Glexia's TakeAutomated analysishigh

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

CVE-2021-2454 affects Oracle VM VirtualBox Core before 6.1.24. It is not described as remotely exploitable; an attacker needs local access with low privileges. If exploited, Oracle says it can lead to takeover of VirtualBox with confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact.

Executive priority

Address during normal high-severity remediation cycles, faster for shared VirtualBox hosts. This is serious if an attacker already has local access, but the cited sources do not support internet-scale or active exploitation urgency.

Technical view

Oracle rates this CVSS 7.0: AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H. The affected component is VirtualBox Core, prior to version 6.1.24. The source bundle does not provide a CWE, root cause, proof of concept, or detailed vulnerable code path.

Likely exposure

Exposure is most likely on developer workstations, lab systems, CI hosts, or shared infrastructure running Oracle VM VirtualBox before 6.1.24. Risk is higher where low-privileged or less-trusted users can log on locally.

Exploitation context

The bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or active exploitation evidence. Exploitation is described as difficult, local, low-privileged, and requiring no user interaction. Treat it mainly as a post-access escalation or containment risk on VirtualBox hosts.

Researcher notes

The public bundle gives impact and attack prerequisites but not root cause or exploitation detail. Avoid assuming guest escape, host compromise mechanics, or affected versions beyond VirtualBox before 6.1.24 unless vendor advisories confirm them.

Mitigation direction

  • Upgrade Oracle VM VirtualBox to 6.1.24 or later per Oracle guidance.
  • Apply Gentoo GLSA-202208-36 updates where VirtualBox is installed through Gentoo packages.
  • Restrict local access to VirtualBox hosts to trusted users only.
  • Prioritize shared or multi-user VirtualBox hosts before single-user workstations.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory systems running Oracle VM VirtualBox and record installed versions.
  • Flag any VirtualBox installation earlier than 6.1.24 as affected.
  • Check package-manager advisory status on Gentoo-managed hosts.
  • Review host access controls for low-privileged local users.
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-2021-2454 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 (3.1)
Known Exploited
No
Published

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

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
7CVSS 3.1HighCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H15.9Primary CVE score

Vulnerability scoring details

Base CVSS 3.1 score

7High
CVSS 3.1 vector shape for CVE-2021-2454Attack VectorAttack ComplexityPrivileges RequiredUser InteractionScopeConfidentiality ImpactIntegrity ImpactAvailability Impact

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

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.