Port forwarding does not work in VirtualBox 7.1.2 but works in VirtualBox 7.0.20, if NAT mode is selected but ethernet cable unplugged

[windows-2048]

Titile.

Consider configuration of two PCs:

PC#1 has WiFi and Ethernet and runs VirtualBox and guest OS. PC#1 is getting its IP address via DHCP from a WiFi router, and its second IP is set manually. PC#1 has Internet access via WiFi.

PC#2 has Ethernet only (it is simple bare metal). PC#2 single IP is set manually, but PC#2 may be turned off; it is connected to PC#1 via an ethernet cable.

In this case, 7.0.20 runs a guest OS successfully with correct port forwarding, e.g, if one turns on PC#2 later, a ssh connection to PC#1 guest OS works fine via VirtualBox 's NAT port forwarding.

But 7.1.2 aborts the boot of a guest OS with an error (with text like "Can't establish port forwarding). If it might be relevant (I doubt), guest OS is OpenBSD.