diff --git a/gns3server/controller/gns3vm/virtualbox_gns3_vm.py b/gns3server/controller/gns3vm/virtualbox_gns3_vm.py
index c4fc1414..8561fe5d 100644
--- a/gns3server/controller/gns3vm/virtualbox_gns3_vm.py
+++ b/gns3server/controller/gns3vm/virtualbox_gns3_vm.py
@@ -23,6 +23,8 @@ import socket
 
 from .base_gns3_vm import BaseGNS3VM
 from .gns3_vm_error import GNS3VMError
+from gns3server.utils import parse_version
+from gns3server.utils.asyncio import wait_run_in_executor
 
 from ...compute.virtualbox import (
     VirtualBox,
@@ -38,6 +40,7 @@ class VirtualBoxGNS3VM(BaseGNS3VM):
 
         self._engine = "virtualbox"
         super().__init__(controller)
+        self._system_properties = {}
         self._virtualbox_manager = VirtualBox()
 
     async def _execute(self, subcommand, args, timeout=60):
@@ -63,6 +66,42 @@ class VirtualBoxGNS3VM(BaseGNS3VM):
                     return value.strip('"')
         return "unknown"
 
+    async def _get_system_properties(self):
+        """
+        Returns the VM state (e.g. running, paused etc.)
+
+        :returns: state (string)
+        """
+
+        properties = await self._execute("list", ["systemproperties"])
+        for prop in properties.splitlines():
+            try:
+                name, value = prop.split(':', 1)
+            except ValueError:
+                continue
+            self._system_properties[name.strip()] = value.strip()
+
+    async def _check_requirements(self):
+        """
+        Checks if the GNS3 VM can run on VirtualBox
+        """
+
+        if not self._system_properties:
+            await self._get_system_properties()
+        if "API version" not in self._system_properties:
+            raise VirtualBoxError("Can't access to VirtualBox API version:\n{}".format(self._system_properties))
+        from cpuinfo import get_cpu_info
+        cpu_info = await wait_run_in_executor(get_cpu_info)
+        vendor_id = cpu_info['vendor_id']
+        if vendor_id == "GenuineIntel":
+            if parse_version(self._system_properties["API version"]) < parse_version("6_1"):
+                raise VirtualBoxError("VirtualBox version 6.1 or above is required to run the GNS3 VM with nested virtualization enabled on Intel processors")
+        elif vendor_id == "AuthenticAMD":
+            if parse_version(self._system_properties["API version"]) < parse_version("6_0"):
+                raise VirtualBoxError("VirtualBox version 6.0 or above is required to run the GNS3 VM with nested virtualization enabled on AMD processors")
+        else:
+            log.warning("Could not determine CPU vendor: {}".format(vendor_id))
+
     async def _look_for_interface(self, network_backend):
         """
         Look for an interface with a specific network backend.
@@ -173,13 +212,16 @@ class VirtualBoxGNS3VM(BaseGNS3VM):
         List all VirtualBox VMs
         """
 
-        return (await self._virtualbox_manager.list_vms())
+        await self._check_requirements()
+        return await self._virtualbox_manager.list_vms()
 
     async def start(self):
         """
         Start the GNS3 VM.
         """
 
+        await self._check_requirements()
+
         # get a NAT interface number
         nat_interface_number = await self._look_for_interface("nat")
         if nat_interface_number < 0:
diff --git a/requirements.txt b/requirements.txt
index 81ff0d1b..1e7fe651 100644
--- a/requirements.txt
+++ b/requirements.txt
@@ -9,3 +9,4 @@ raven>=5.23.0
 psutil==5.6.3
 async-timeout==3.0.1
 distro>=1.3.0
+py-cpuinfo==5.0.0