Oracle Vritualbox got an update for its 5.1 series earlier today with lots of bug-fixes.

For Linux users, Virtualbox 5.1.24 brings fixes to Kernel 4.12 and Kernel 4.13, fixes for loading shared libraries, fixes for kernel modules built with gcc-7, makes 2D video acceleration available for older Linux distributions.

Other changes in Virtualbox 5.1.24 include:

• VMM: mask the VME CPUID capability on AMD Ryzen processors.
• VMM: emulate more SSE2 instructions
• VMM: properly clear the TF and AC flags when dispatching real-mode interrupts
• GUI: fixes to make the mini-toolbar work with recent versions of KDE / Plasma
• GUI: fixed a potential crash when a VM with multiple screens is running in full screen / seamless mode and a host screen is removed.
• GUI: fixed initial size hints for guests which set intermediate sizes before responding
• GUI: prevent stopped screen updates or black screen on reboot in a multi-screen setup under certain conditions
• Audio: many improvements for Windows 10 guests
• Storage: fixed possible crash when using Intels SPDK
• API: use the correct file name of the VM machine state if the VM settings directory is renamed, for example during grouping / ungrouping a VM
• API: return the correct error code if powering up a VM fails
• API: video recording did not automatically start at VM start when enabled in the VM settings
• API: when relocating a medium, check that the target path is fully qualified
• EFI: fix for VMs with more than 3504MB RAM
• Host-only adapter: correctly determine IPv4 netmasks on Windows hosts
• NAT network: properly do the refcounting for starting / stopping the NAT / DHCP services if the NAT network is changed while the adapter network connection type is anything else but NAT network
• VBoxManage: fixed controlvm videocapfile
• Windows hosts: fixed crashes if driver verifier is enabled

Download / Install Virtualbox:

The official Linux binaries (i386 for 32-bit, amd64 for 64-bit) for Ubuntu 12.04, Ubuntu 14.04, Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 17.04 are available for download at the link below:

If you have a previous 5.1 series installed, and enabled the Virtualbox Linux repository, you can simply upgrade Virtualbox via Software Updater:

To manually add the VirtualBox Linux repository, do:

1. Open terminal via Ctrl+Alt+T or by searching it from app launcher, when it opens, run command:

sudo sh -c 'echo "deb http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/debian $(lsb_release -cs) contrib" >> /etc/apt/sources.list.d/virtualbox.list'

for Linux Mint 18.x, replace $(lsb_release -cs) in the code with xenial

2. Download and install the gpg key:

wget -q https://www.virtualbox.org/download/oracle_vbox_2016.asc -O- | sudo apt-key add -

To install virtualbox 5.1 for the first time, run command:

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install virtualbox-5.1

A new maintenance release for Oracle Virtualbox 5.1 has been released one day ago with Linux hosts and guests fixes and kernel 4.9, 4.10, 2.2.68 compile fixes.

Changes in Virtualbox 5.1.12:

• VMM: fixed VERR_IEM_ASPECT_NOT_IMPLEMENTED Guru Meditations with certain Linux guests if KVM paravirtualization is enabled
• VMM: fixed VERR_VMX_UNABLE_TO_START_VM Guru Meditations under rare conditions
• GUI: prevent a crash under certain conditions if the VM is terminated very early
• GUI: fixed certain keyboard capture issues for OS X hosts.
• GUI: fixed dragging guest windows in seamless mode with the keyboard captured (X11 hosts only)
• GUI: fixed a problem where the new version detected dialog was covered by the appliance import dialog (Mac OS X hosts only
• Storage: fixed NVMe reset processing when doing rmmod nvme; modprobe nvme in a Linux guest
• Storage: fixed creating a snapshot when the VM is running and an NVMe controller is present
• Storage: fixed a problem with the LsiLogic SCSI controller where requests could be lost with SMP guests
• E1000: fixed “cable disconnected” issue for Mac OS X guests
• E1000: fixed “TX unit hang” issue for Linux guests only
• Parallel ports: fixed port enumeration on Windows host
• API: don’t crash when sanitizing certain VM names
• Linux hosts: automatically disable asynchronous I/O on Linux 2.6.18 kernels
• Linux hosts / guests: Linux 2.6.28 compile fix
• Linux hosts: compile Linux 4.9 compile fix
• Linux Additions: warn the user about a known bug with older Linux guests (e.g. Debian 7) requiring manual work to get 3D working
• Linux Additions: fix the graphics driver build with Linux 4.10 and later
• Windows Additions: fixed a crash in the WDDM driver under certain conditions

Download / Install Virtualbox 5.1.12 in Ubuntu:

The official Linux binary packages are available for download at the link below:

Grab the package (i386 for 32-bit, or amd64 for 64-bit) for you system and click install via Ubuntu Software.

For those who have a previous VBox 5.1 release installed, launch Software Updater to upgrade the software if you have Virtualbox Linux repository added in your system:

To manually add Virtualbox Linux repository:

1. Open terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) and run command:

sudo sh -c 'echo "deb http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/debian xenial contrib" >> /etc/apt/sources.list.d/virtualbox.list'

Replace xenial in the code with yakkety (for 16.10), or trusty for 14.04 and Linux Mint 17.x.

2. Then setup the keyring:

wget -q -O - http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/debian/oracle_vbox_2016.asc | sudo apt-key add -

wget -q https://www.virtualbox.org/download/oracle_vbox.asc -O- | sudo apt-key add -

The second maintain release for the Virtualbox 5.1 series, Virtualbox 5.1.4, now is available for upgrade in the official Virtualbox Linux repository.

Oracle has not yet announced the release of Virtualbox 5.1.4 at the moment. The changelog will be available once it’s ready in the wiki page, and Linux binaries will be available for download in the Linux download page.

Those who have enabled Virtualbox Linux repository, Virtualbox 5.1.4 is now available for upgrade in Software Updater:

How to install Virtualbox 5.1.4 in Ubuntu

The new release is ready for upgrade for all current Ubuntu releases, include Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 14.04, Ubuntu 12.04, and their derivatives.

1. For those who don’t have VBox Linux repository enabled, open terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) and run command:

sudo sh -c 'echo "deb http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/debian xenial contrib" >> /etc/apt/sources.list.d/virtualbox.list'

replace xenial with trusty or precise for Ubuntu 14.04 or Ubuntu 12.04 and their derivatives.

2. And setup the key via command:

wget -q -O - http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/debian/oracle_vbox_2016.asc | sudo apt-key add -

For Ubuntu 15.10 and older, use the old key:

wget -q https://www.virtualbox.org/download/oracle_vbox.asc -O- | sudo apt-key add -

3. After adding the official Virtualbox Linux repository, launch Software Updater and you will be able to upgrade Virtualbox after checking for updates: