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Parallels DesktopApplication · Parallels

CVE-2007-2455

MEDIUM · 6.1 CVSS v2.0 Published 2007-05-02
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
66/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
Parallels allows local users to cause a denial of service (virtual machine abort) via (1) certain INT instructions, as demonstrated by INT 0xAA; (2) an IRET instruction when an invalid address is at the top of the stack; (3) a malformed MOVNTI instruction, as demonstrated by using a register as a destination; or a write operation to (4) SEGR6 or (5) SEGR7.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

Parallels virtualization software fails to properly handle certain privileged x86 instructions executed by local users within a virtual machine, allowing a local attacker to cause the virtual machine to abort. The vulnerable instructions include specific INT instructions (0xAA), IRET with invalid stack address, malformed MOVNTI instructions using a register as destination, and write operations to SEGR6 or SEGR7 segment registers.

MitigationApply available Parallels updates/patches for this vulnerability. As this is a 2007 vulnerability, ensure all Parallels installations are running current supported versions. Restrict local user access to virtual machines as a defense-in-depth measure.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Parallels DesktopApplication
Affected:all versions

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Adjacent
Complexity
Low
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
Complete

AV:A/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:C

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Confirm Parallels Desktop installation
    On the host system, check for Parallels Desktop application in /Applications folder (macOS) or search for 'Parallels' in installed programs (Windows). Alternatively, run command: ls -la /Applications | grep -i parallels or check Registry keys under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Parallels.
    Affected if Parallels Desktop is found installed on the host system, as all versions are affected by this vulnerability.
  2. Identify Parallels Desktop version
    Run 'prlctl --version' from terminal if available, or right-click Parallels Desktop icon and select 'About Parallels Desktop' to view version information.
    Affected if Any installed version of Parallels Desktop is affected, as the advisory states all versions are vulnerable.
  3. Check for active virtual machines
    Run 'prlctl list -a' to list all virtual machines, or open Parallels Virtual Machines list in the Parallels Desktop application.
    Affected if Virtual machines are running on the Parallels Desktop installation, providing the attack surface for local users to trigger the flaw.
  4. Assess local user access to virtual machines
    Review user permissions on virtual machines by checking VM configuration files in ~/.parallels/ or the Parallels VM settings for any non-administrative local user accounts granted access.
    Affected if Non-privileged or untrusted local users have access to execute commands within any virtual machine, enabling them to trigger the vulnerable instructions.
  5. Verify guest OS handling of privileged instructions
    This is a host-level vulnerability; no specific guest OS configuration check is required. The flaw exists in how Parallels handles certain x86 instructions from the guest.
    Affected if The host runs any guest operating system within Parallels, as the vulnerability is triggered from within the virtual machine environment.

A system is affected if it has Parallels Desktop installed and runs virtual machines where local users can execute the specific x86 instructions (INT 0xAA, invalid IRET, malformed MOVNTI, or writes to SEGR6/SEGR7) within a guest VM.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply available Parallels updates/patches for this vulnerability. As this is a 2007 vulnerability, ensure all Parallels installations are running current supported versions. Restrict local user access to virtual machines as a defense-in-depth measure.

Fix this in Parallels Desktop Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
4.0 hours of engineering $750
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2007-2455 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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