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> Their VirtualBox license FAQ [1] gives them enough leeway to change future licenses at will. If an exploit is discovered in your old VirtualBox and they've ch
by brightlancer 3y ago
> Their VirtualBox license FAQ [1] gives them enough leeway to change future licenses at will. If an exploit is discovered in your old VirtualBox and they've changed the license, you're out of luck.
That only applies to the optional Extension Pack. The base software for host and guest is GPL v2, as described in the FAQ you linked.
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Will the licensing terms of the VirtualBox base package be changed in the future?
We are not currently planning to do so, but it doesn't really matter. The license that applies to the VirtualBox base package is perpetual and cannot be taken back unless you violate the license. Even if Oracle were to change the license again, this would only affect future versions, and anybody still in compliance would still be permitted to redistribute the existing VirtualBox code under the terms of the GPLv2.
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- madsbuch 3y ago> this would only affect future versions, I think this is what the parent commenter was saying: > If an exploit is discovered in your old VirtualBox and they've changed the license
- yrro 3y agoI think the point is that the patch for a critical security vulnerability _could_ be gated behind a license change. Seems unlikely though even for Oracle. If it did happen I expect someone else would come up with a freely licensed fix and that would be shipped by all the distros. I prefer libvirt/kvm anyway. :)