Discussion of Problems due to Hardened Security

Discussions related to using VirtualBox on Windows hosts.
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Georg_
Posts: 10
Joined: 6. Dec 2016, 12:13

Re: Discussion of Problems due to Hardened Security

Post by Georg_ »

mpack wrote:
Georg_ wrote:My problem is, that I do not understand what exactly VirtualBox does not like...
I'm pretty sure it's certs database corruption, as I mentioned in my first reply to you.

You still have MalwareBytes drivers present, but I agree that's unlikely to be the problem. That was proposed as a secondary test to try, not as a central feature of the problem.
I deleted the drivers now. Since this was possible without any problems, I am sure they were not in use.

How can I "repair" the "certs database"?

Georg
scottgus1
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Re: Discussion of Problems due to Hardened Security

Post by scottgus1 »

Sometimes it's also hard for us to figure out what Virtualbox doesn't like. I do wish those hardening logs were easier to read...

The Nvidia folks may have forgotten to put a good security certificate with that file. It does happen. how to test it, I don't know.

The Wintab file is a common error that doesn't actually stop Virtualbox - the file is listed as an error because some Windows list of injectable files contains mention of Wintab and Wintab doesn't exist on your computer. Virtualbox registers the error because it's told to look for it and can't find it. I get the same error in my working 5.1.6 guests that boot without issue.

The "LacksWinVerifyTrust" is the thing that seems to indicate there's an issue with the Windows certificate database that Mpack is mentioning.

Developers develop for up-to-date OS's, not non-updated OS's. I would find it amazing to learn that the developers of Virtualbox would actually keep an un-updated installation of Windows 7 around just to get Virtualbox to run on it. (this meaning, they don't in almost every likelihood - their test systems will have the MS updates.)

I would recommend getting some disk-imaging software (Macrium Reflect is good and free) and make a disk image backup of the un-updated Windows 7, just in case something goes wrong. Set a System Restore Point, then run all those updates - allow a day or two to complete. Uninstall then reinstall Virtualbox, using right-click-Run-As-Administrator (emphasis on the right-click) then see if Virtualbox will run. (Note, I run a Windows 7 host for our office server, on the wait-a-month-then-install-updates scenario, and it runs Virtualbox fine.)
Georg_
Posts: 10
Joined: 6. Dec 2016, 12:13

Re: Discussion of Problems due to Hardened Security

Post by Georg_ »

Thanks for the long feedback!

But I will not play with my system the way you recommend (you are completely right, I should probably do it, but there is always the risk that something else will not work anymore).

Therefore, I have to repeat my question:
How can I repair the certification database?
scottgus1
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Re: Discussion of Problems due to Hardened Security

Post by scottgus1 »

Aside form Googling or asking in a Windows forum, I will have to repeat my answer: Run the updates.
Georg_
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Joined: 6. Dec 2016, 12:13

Re: Discussion of Problems due to Hardened Security

Post by Georg_ »

scottgus1 wrote:Aside form Googling or asking in a Windows forum, I will have to repeat my answer: Run the updates.
Well, there must be another way to do this.
If "the updates" can do this, it must be possible in another way, too.
It's fine if _you_ do not know how to do it, nobody knows everything. Still, there must be a way.

I would expect that the Oracle people should know something like this, if they so heavily rely on this database.
If I program code that relies on things, I always have a way to create some test cases, positive or negative ones and I know pretty well, what I need and what I want. I can not believe that the coders of VirtualBox do not know a way to repair the database except for constantly installing and uninstalling updates...
mpack
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Re: Discussion of Problems due to Hardened Security

Post by mpack »

Sorry, but it isn't the job of the VirtualBox devs to help you repair your PC, even if you had a support contract, which you don't.

In fact I have to disagree with Scottgus on one point: a new Windows update can't fix data that is already corrupted.

You can try running "sfc /scannow", but I don't hold out much hope for it.
Georg_
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Joined: 6. Dec 2016, 12:13

Re: Discussion of Problems due to Hardened Security

Post by Georg_ »

mpack wrote:Sorry, but it isn't the job of the VirtualBox devs to help you repair your PC, even if you had a support contract, which you don't.

In fact I have to disagree with Scottgus on one point: a new Windows update can't fix data that is already corrupted.

You can try running "sfc /scannow", but I don't hold out much hope for it.
SFC does not find any errors or problems.

Currently, I only hear some people telling that something is corrupted.
But I see no proof for that or anything else, except VirtualBox having problems with these "errors".

So, I am out of luck: Windows update can not fix the database, nothing else will fix the database, VirtualBox will not run with the corrupted database.
NO other software has any problems with my database...
Well, for me this sounds like the VirtualBox devs have no idea what they are doing or talking about.
This is nonsense!
This is exactly what I would do if I want to get rid of people with problems: tell them something is wrong, do not give them any way to verify or repair it and just leave them rotting. Great!
mpack
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Re: Discussion of Problems due to Hardened Security

Post by mpack »

Georg_ wrote: NO other software has any problems with my database...
Any other software which checks the database will have the same problem. However, few other software cares about software certificates, or about what other software tries to inject itself into its process space. VirtualBox does care about those things because, as a tech media scare story pointed out a while back, some code in a VM runs with higher privileges than is normally expected of user mode code and hence could do more nasty things than usual.

Your "fix" options are :-
1. Pay an IT expert to come fix your PC.
2. Reinstall the host OS (or upgrade it to Win8.1 or Win10).
3. Revert VirtualBox to 4.3.12, which is the last version to not do hardening checks. Note however that 4.3.12 will become increasingly obsolete (it already is for latest guests and hosts), so this is not a long term solution.

I'm sorry that you find your current reality unpleasant, but we are just fellow VirtualBox users here, so if your problem isn't immediately obvious then there isn't a whole lot we can do except sympathize. I don't really know what you think other users on a discussion forum would have to gain by deliberately fobbing you off, as you seem to be suggesting.
hotjava1231
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Joined: 25. Dec 2013, 14:41

Re: Discussion of Problems due to Hardened Security

Post by hotjava1231 »

Georg_ wrote:
mpack wrote:Sorry, but it isn't the job of the VirtualBox devs to help you repair your PC, even if you had a support contract, which you don't.

In fact I have to disagree with Scottgus on one point: a new Windows update can't fix data that is already corrupted.

You can try running "sfc /scannow", but I don't hold out much hope for it.
SFC does not find any errors or problems.

Currently, I only hear some people telling that something is corrupted.
But I see no proof for that or anything else, except VirtualBox having problems with these "errors".

So, I am out of luck: Windows update can not fix the database, nothing else will fix the database, VirtualBox will not run with the corrupted database.
NO other software has any problems with my database...
Well, for me this sounds like the VirtualBox devs have no idea what they are doing or talking about.
This is nonsense!
This is exactly what I would do if I want to get rid of people with problems: tell them something is wrong, do not give them any way to verify or repair it and just leave them rotting. Great!
Use Google search with these search terms "windows repair certificate database" (without quotation marks, of course) as I can't yet post links due to forum rules. I will post them later.

EDIT:

Here they are:
http://arstechnica.com/civis/viewtopic.php?t=477843
http://superuser.com/questions/411909/w ... -windows-7
http://security.stackexchange.com/quest ... ts-default
wunjo
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Re: Discussion of Problems due to Hardened Security

Post by wunjo »

I'm also affected with a "corrupted database". For me, the only remedy is de-install VBox before shutdown and reinstall after startup the Win 7 OS. It will only startup without errors after a fresh install of VBox.
mpack
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Re: Discussion of Problems due to Hardened Security

Post by mpack »

Reinstalling VirtualBox is worth a try, but really is yet another of those voodoo charms which will do nothing at all if the certs database is corrupted. The latter belongs to the host OS, not VirtualBox.
seanvree
Posts: 15
Joined: 21. Dec 2016, 18:50

Re: Discussion of Problems due to Hardened Security

Post by seanvree »

Host OS; Windows 10E (Build 14393.576)
VB Version: 5.1.12 r 112440
No anti-virus

Error:

The virtual machine 'VreeSeedBox' has terminated unexpectedly during startup with exit code 1 (0x1). More details may be available in 'C:\Users\Administrator\VirtualBox VMs\VreeSeedBox\Logs\VBoxHardening.log'.


Result Code:
E_FAIL (0x80004005)
Component:
MachineWrap
Interface:
IMachine {b2547866-a0a1-4391-8b86-6952d82efaa0}
Attachments
VboxHardeningError.zip
(2.8 KiB) Downloaded 34 times
rseiler
Posts: 158
Joined: 5. Feb 2009, 20:26

Re: Discussion of Problems due to Hardened Security

Post by rseiler »

@seanvree , seeing the same error (and hardening log) as you...but in 14986. I naturally assumed that it was a problem due to it, but clearly that's not the case given your results, which is why I'm not mentioning this in the dedicated section of the forum for Insider builds (it's not an Insider-related issue but one that also occurs on it).

Update: Once in a while you get lucky. Try running setup again and doing a repair install...and then rebooting again. That worked here. Be sure, as always, to run setup "as admin," though I did remember to do that the first time, too. Go figure.
Last edited by rseiler on 21. Dec 2016, 19:28, edited 1 time in total.
seanvree
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Joined: 21. Dec 2016, 18:50

Re: Discussion of Problems due to Hardened Security

Post by seanvree »

rseiler wrote:@seanvree , seeing the same error (and hardening log) as you...but in 14986. I naturally assumed that it was a problem due to it, but clearly that's not the case given your results, which is why I'm not mentioning this in the dedicated section of the forum for Insider builds (it's not an Insider-related issue but one that also occurs on it).
Nope, it's not Windows. This happened after I upgraded VB to the latest version.
rseiler
Posts: 158
Joined: 5. Feb 2009, 20:26

Re: Discussion of Problems due to Hardened Security

Post by rseiler »

seanvree wrote:Nope, it's not Windows. This happened after I upgraded VB to the latest version.
I meant that sometimes this kind of problem relates to the particular flavor of Windows clashing with a particular build of VB, particularly fast-moving Insider builds, but that wasn't the case here because you're on 14393.

Anyway, see the edit of my last post.
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