↑ Also see the following Whonix ™ forum discussion: Whonix ™ vulerable due to missing processor microcode packages? spectre / meltdown / retpoline / L1 Terminal Fault (L1TF).VirtualBox version 5.2.18 or above is required since only that version comes with Spectre/Meltdown defenses. Vboxmanage import Whonix-XFCE-16.0.4.2.ova -vsys 0 -eula accept -vsys 1 -eula accept VBoxManage modifyvm "Whonix-Workstation" -mds-clear-on-sched on VBoxManage modifyvm "Whonix-Workstation" -mds-clear-on-vm-entry on VBoxManage modifyvm "Whonix-Workstation" -nestedpaging off VBoxManage modifyvm "Whonix-Workstation" -spec-ctrl on VBoxManage modifyvm "Whonix-Workstation" -l1d-flush-on-sched on VBoxManage modifyvm "Whonix-Workstation" -l1d-flush-on-vm-entry on VBoxManage modifyvm "Whonix-Workstation" -ibpb-on-vm-exit on VBoxManage modifyvm "Whonix-Workstation" -ibpb-on-vm-entry on VBoxManage modifyvm "Whonix-Gateway" -mds-clear-on-sched on VBoxManage modifyvm "Whonix-Gateway" -mds-clear-on-vm-entry on VBoxManage modifyvm "Whonix-Gateway" -nestedpaging off VBoxManage modifyvm "Whonix-Gateway" -spec-ctrl on VBoxManage modifyvm "Whonix-Gateway" -l1d-flush-on-sched on VBoxManage modifyvm "Whonix-Gateway" -l1d-flush-on-vm-entry on VBoxManage modifyvm "Whonix-Gateway" -ibpb-on-vm-exit on VBoxManage modifyvm "Whonix-Gateway" -ibpb-on-vm-entry on Users must patiently wait for VirtualBox developers to fix this bug. To learn more, see: VirtualBox 5.2.18 vulnerable to spectre/meltdown despite microcode being installed and the associated VirtualBox forum discussion. All Spectre/Meltdown-related VirtualBox settings are tuned for better security as documented below.Installation of the latest VirtualBox version.A "not vulnerable" result from spectre-meltdown-checker run on the host.The reason is VirtualBox is still likely vulnerable, even after: Due to the huge performance penalty and unclear security benefits of applying these changes, it may not be worth the effort. These experimental Spectre/Meltdown defenses are related to issues outlined in Firmware Security and Updates.