CVE-2020-17402
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 · uneditedThis vulnerability allows local attackers to disclose sensitive information on affected installations of Parallels Desktop 15.1.4 (47270). An attacker must first obtain the ability to execute low-privileged code on the target system in order to exploit this vulnerability. The specific flaw exists within the prl_hypervisor kext. By examining a log file, an attacker can disclose a memory address. An attacker can leverage this in conjunction with other vulnerabilities to escalate privileges and execute code in the context of the kernel. Was ZDI-CAN-11063.
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 · moderate confidenceThis vulnerability in Parallels Desktop's prl_hypervisor kernel extension (kext) allows local attackers with low-privileged code execution to read a log file and disclose kernel memory addresses. This information disclosure aids in bypassing ASLR and can be chained with other vulnerabilities to achieve kernel-level privilege escalation.
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< 16.0.0CVSS 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
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:N
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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify installed Parallels Desktop versionOpen Parallels Desktop and go to Help > About Parallels Desktop, or run: defaults read /Applications/Parallels\ Desktop.app/Contents/Info.plist CFBundleShortVersionStringAffected if The version number is lower than 16.0.0 (for example, 15.x.x or earlier)
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Verify prl_hypervisor kext is presentRun: kextstat | grep -i prl_hypervisor or ls /Library/Extensions/ | grep -i prlAffected if The kext is loaded or present on the system (indicating Parallels hypervisor components are installed)
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Locate the prl_hypervisor log fileCheck common log locations such as /var/log/ or the user's ~/Library/Logs/ for files named containing 'prl_hypervisor' or similar Parallels hypervisor logs. Use: find /var/log -name '*prl*' 2>/dev/nullAffected if A prl_hypervisor log file exists and is readable by low-privileged users
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Check log file permissions and access controlRun: ls -la on the identified log file to inspect owner, group, and world-readable permissions. Also check with: stat /path/to/logfileAffected if The log file is readable by non-root users or users outside the Parallels admin group
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Confirm low-privileged user access to kextAttempt to read the kext info or log as a non-admin user, or verify that the log file path is accessible without elevated privilegesAffected if A standard (non-admin) user account can read kernel memory addresses from the log file
You are affected if running Parallels Desktop version below 16.0.0 with the prl_hypervisor kext installed and a readable log file that exposes kernel memory addresses to low-privileged users.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 data16.0.0
Apply the vendor patch or update to a patched version of Parallels Desktop. Until patched, limit the ability for untrusted code to run and monitor for suspicious access to the prl_hypervisor kext log files.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-17402 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2020-17402 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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