Error: Host Only Network- Failed to save host network interface parameter - E_ACCESSDENIED

Discussions related to using VirtualBox on Linux hosts.
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Marcel_
Posts: 2
Joined: 3. Nov 2021, 18:53

Error: Host Only Network- Failed to save host network interface parameter - E_ACCESSDENIED

Post by Marcel_ »

If i try to change the ip address or subnetmask of my host only network, i receive the following error code:
Failed to save host network interface parameter.
Callee RC:
E_ACCESSDENIED (0x80070005)
Does anyone know how to fix it? I have a linux system based on arch
scottgus1
Site Moderator
Posts: 20965
Joined: 30. Dec 2009, 20:14
Primary OS: MS Windows 10
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Windows, Linux

Re: Error: Host Only Network- Failed to save host network interface parameter - E_ACCESSDENIED

Post by scottgus1 »

A new setup for Linux Hosts was introduced in 6.1.28. See https://www.virtualbox.org/manual/ch06. ... k_hostonly
On Linux, Mac OS X and Solaris Oracle VM VirtualBox will only allow IP addresses in 192.68.56.0/21 range to be assigned to host-only adapters. For IPv6 only link-local addresses are allowed. If other ranges are desired, they can be enabled by creating /etc/vbox/networks.conf and specifying allowed ranges there. For example, to allow 10.0.0.0/8 and 192.168.0.0/16 IPv4 ranges as well as 2001::/64 range put the following lines into /etc/vbox/networks.conf:

* 10.0.0.0/8 192.168.0.0/16
* 2001::/64

Lines starting with the hash # are ignored. Next example allows any addresses, effectively disabling range control:

* 0.0.0.0/0 ::/0

If the file exists, but no ranges are specified in it, no addresses will be assigned to host-only adapters. The following example effectively disables all ranges:

# No addresses are allowed for host-only adapters
virtualvertigo
Posts: 2
Joined: 5. Dec 2021, 01:24

Re: Error: Host Only Network- Failed to save host network interface parameter - E_ACCESSDENIED

Post by virtualvertigo »

What was the underlying reason for this change? It seems very arbitrary to only allow 192.168.56.0/21 by default for host only networks.

Edit: How would additional networks be enabled on Mac OS VirtualBox? What is the Mac equivalent of /etc/vbox/networks.conf ?
scottgus1
Site Moderator
Posts: 20965
Joined: 30. Dec 2009, 20:14
Primary OS: MS Windows 10
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Windows, Linux

Re: Error: Host Only Network- Failed to save host network interface parameter - E_ACCESSDENIED

Post by scottgus1 »

virtualvertigo wrote:What was the underlying reason for this change?
The old method had a permissions security hole on non-Windows hosts. The networks.conf file requires admin privileges to change, which plugs the security hole.
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