The first maintenance update to the recent release of VirtualBox 7.2 is out, fixing critical startup crashes and making TPM emulation on Linux work again.
VirtualBox 7.2.2 fixes issues with virtual machines not starting on Windows on ARM (WoA) devices. WoA improvements headlined the initial 7.2 releases so ensuring virtualisation on Microsoft’s newest ARM laptops goes smoothly was needed.
Also addressed in this update is an issue with emulated Trusted Platform Module (TPM) not working in guests on Linux hosts, which isn’t ideal for those specifically needing to work with TPM-backed features or OSes (like a certain version of Windows, cough).
Rounding out the Windows-focused fixes, VirtualBox 7.2.2 supports setting light/dark mode independent of the main system setting, and Windows Guest Additions can (once again) be installed on Windows XP SP2 64-bit.
Linux-specific fixes and fine-tuning include:
- App freezes on Linux hosts at startup
- Freeze (sometimes) caused when creating new VM
- Theme conflict making menus unreadable in dark mode
- KVM APIs used on Linux Kernel 6.16.x for acquiring/releasing VT-x
- Guest Additions error about ‘unable to load shared libraries’
Other band-aids added:
- App crashing if one VM has a lot of snapshots
- App crash caused by removing all VMs from VM list
- Errors notifications not shown when deleting VM snapshots
- Bug preventing window resizing past specific breakpoint
- VM network status-bar indicator shows IP address in tooltip
- Prevents nameserver in the 127/8 network being passed to guest
- New experimental e1000 adapter (82583V)
- USB devices exposed over USB/IP work again
- Reduced CPU usage for idling VMs on ARM hosts
- Internal networking, including NAT networks fixed on macOS
Finally, virtual USB webcam is now part of the underlying open source base package, which should please those who like/need/want to use a webcam in a VM without installing extra packages.
More detail on the makeup of VirtualBox 7.2.2 can be found in the official release notes, handy if there’s a flaw you’re hoping is fixed.
Download VirtualBox 7.2.2
Oracle VirtualBox is open-source virtualisation software for Windows, macOS, Linux and Solaris. It’s free to use (no license, subscriptions or caveats), and you can download the latest release of VirtualBox from the official website.
If you’re on Ubuntu (Linux Mint or other Ubuntu-based distribution), download the official DEB package from the site above, or choose a distro-agnostic binary.
In addition to the main app, you should also download the VirtualBox Extension Pack. This adds extra features and options not present in the base VirtualBox build — some of which help make running other OSes less hassle.