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CVE Record

CVE-2022-21554: 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 6.1.36. Easily exploitable vulnerability allows high 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 unauthorized ability to cause a hang or frequently repeatable crash (complete DOS) of Oracle VM VirtualBox. CVSS 3.1 Base Score 4.4 (Availability impacts). CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H).

MediumCVSS 4.4Not KEV-listedUpdated
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Glexia's TakeAutomated analysismoderate

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

CVE-2022-21554 is an Oracle VM VirtualBox Core vulnerability affecting supported versions prior to 6.1.36. A highly privileged local user on infrastructure running VirtualBox could cause the product to hang or crash repeatedly, creating a complete denial of service for VirtualBox availability.

Executive priority

Treat this as a contained availability risk, not a broad data-theft issue. Patch during normal maintenance unless VirtualBox supports critical operations or untrusted privileged users share the host.

Technical view

The issue is locally exploitable with low attack complexity, no user interaction, and high privileges required. The documented impact is availability only: no confidentiality or integrity impact is listed. Oracle assigns CVSS 3.1 score 4.4 with vector AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.

Likely exposure

Exposure is limited to environments running Oracle VM VirtualBox versions prior to 6.1.36, especially shared virtualization hosts, build systems, lab environments, or desktops where privileged local users can access the host.

Exploitation context

The source bundle does not cite active exploitation, and the CVE is not marked as CISA KEV. Practical abuse requires high privileges and local access to the infrastructure where VirtualBox runs, reducing broad remote risk.

Researcher notes

Sources do not provide root-cause details, CWE mapping, public exploit evidence, or indicators of compromise. Validation should focus on version exposure, privilege boundaries, and operational dependency on VirtualBox availability.

Mitigation direction

  • Upgrade Oracle VM VirtualBox to 6.1.36 or later per vendor guidance.
  • Apply relevant Oracle July 2022 CPU or Gentoo package updates.
  • Limit privileged local access on hosts running VirtualBox.
  • Prioritize shared or operationally important VirtualBox hosts first.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory hosts running Oracle VM VirtualBox.
  • Confirm installed VirtualBox versions are 6.1.36 or later.
  • Check package manager or vendor advisory status for applied updates.
  • Review privileged local users on VirtualBox hosts.
  • Confirm monitoring detects VirtualBox service hangs or repeat crashes.
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-2022-21554 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
Medium
CVSS
4.4 (3.1)
Known Exploited
No
Published

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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
4.4CVSS 3.1MediumCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H0.83.6Primary CVE score

Vulnerability scoring details

Base CVSS 3.1 score

4.4Medium
CVSS 3.1 vector shape for CVE-2022-21554Attack VectorAttack ComplexityPrivileges RequiredUser InteractionScopeConfidentiality ImpactIntegrity ImpactAvailability Impact

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