CVE-2026-21986

Local Windows guest hang or repeated crash

Published Jan 20, 2026 · Updated Jan 20, 2026

Denial of service in Oracle VM VirtualBox 7.1.14 and 7.2.4 allows local users to hang or repeatedly crash Windows guest VMs. Oracle identifies the Core component but has not published the vulnerable code path or operation performed on untrusted input. Exploitation requires logon to host infrastructure where VirtualBox runs, needs no VirtualBox privileges or user interaction, and affects availability only.

CVSS severity7.1
High
EPSS probability0.19%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Denial of service in Oracle VM VirtualBox 7.1.14 and 7.2.4 allows local users to hang or repeatedly crash Windows guest VMs. Oracle identifies the Core component but has not published the vulnerable code path or operation performed on untrusted input. Exploitation requires logon to host infrastructure where VirtualBox runs, needs no VirtualBox privileges or user interaction, and affects availability only.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-21986
Published
Jan 20, 2026
Updated
Jan 20, 2026
Vendor
Oracle
Product
Oracle VM VirtualBox
Classifications
T1499
Attack vector
local
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jan 20, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Jan 20, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=7.1.14
  2. Affected versionversion=7.2.4

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

Oracle · Oracle VM VirtualBoxversion=7.1.14; version=7.2.4

Published CVSS scores

7.1OracleCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

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No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

T1499Endpoint Denial of Service

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

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Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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