Oracle released the VirtualBox 7.2.16 maintenance update on 18 August 2026. The most important changes concern Linux hosts: FRED support, an improved clipboard on Wayland, and a faster 3D graphics driver.
What’s new
- FRED support: FRED (Flexible Return and Event Delivery) is an x86 extension from Intel (also supported by AMD) that handles CPU privilege transitions, interrupts and exceptions more efficiently – now usable on Linux hosts.
- Wayland clipboard: improved shared clipboard for Linux hosts and guests, plus initial support for the Extended Data Control Protocol for Plasma Wayland guests.
- Graphics: better performance of the VMSVGA 3D controller.
There is also better support for RHEL 9.8 kernels in Linux guests, graceful handling of inaccessible virtual machines, and a fix for a hang when stopping recording after many display updates. For homelab and desktop users, the update is a solid maintenance release.
Sources: 9to5Linux, VirtualBox Changelog.
