Is it possible to boot an ISO inside a VM/similar which is inside another VM when nested virtualization is not enabled?

Context:

• I have a Windows Server 2022 VM where Jenkins generates nightly builds.

• Jenkins checks out the repository and produces an ISO file as an artifact.

• I need to boot that ISO and run an automated test script (e.g., /mnt/workspace_devel/test/test_run.sh) inside the OS that starts from the ISO.

• Nested virtualization is not enabled (IT policy)

Previous setup:

• In a previous environment where Windows was not virtualized, we used VMware Workstation Player to attach the ISO and run tests successfully.

• Now, IT has confirmed that nested virtualization is not allowed in the current environment

Questions:

1. Is there any way to install VMware Player, VirtualBox, or similar virtualization software inside this Windows Server VM to boot the ISO?

2. If not, what are practical alternatives to:

   • Boot the ISO in a headless manner,

   • Run the test script automatically,

   • Integrate this process into the Jenkins pipeline?

Details:

• Guest OS (where Jenkins runs): Windows Server 2022.

• ISO contains the OS we want to validate (Linux-based).

• Full automation is required (no manual GUI interaction).

Goal: Create a CI/CD flow where:

1. Jenkins builds the ISO,

2. Boots it in a VM or emulator,

3. Executes the test script,

4. Collects artifacts (e.g., test_report.html, test_run.log).

What I’ve considered:

• Alternatives like QEMU without hardware acceleration (slow, but possible?).

• Using Docker, does it make sense?