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VirtualBox Gains a Working KVM Backend [for Linux hosts] in Development Builds

People > Companies ❤️ - programming.dev [Unofficial] February 5, 2026
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submitted by cm0002 to linux 36 points | 9 comments https://linuxiac.com/virtualbox-gains-a-working-kvm-backend-in-development-builds/ > A recent development in the VirtualBox source tree introduces an early but usable KVM backend for Linux hosts. According to a comment by contributor Alexander Eichner, the new backend is now in a workable state, or at least when running modern guest operating systems. Older or more unusual guests, such as DOS, have not yet been tested. > > And if you’re wondering what benefits this brings, the main one is that having a KVM backend allows VirtualBox to continue running virtual machines even when its own kernel modules (vboxdrv, vboxnetflt, vboxnetflt, vboxnetflt) cannot be loaded. > > This is especially relevant on modern Linux systems, where Secure Boot, kernel hardening, or distribution-specific policies can block third-party kernel drivers. In such cases, VirtualBox will now automatically fall back to using KVM if it is available on the host system.

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