CVE-2020-8876
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 information on affected installations of Parallels Desktop 15.1.2-47123. 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 IOCTL handler. The issue results from the lack of proper validation of user-supplied data, which can result in a read past the end of an allocated buffer. An attacker can leverage this in conjunction with other vulnerabilities to execute arbitrary code in the context of the kernel. Was ZDI-CAN-10029.
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 is an information disclosure vulnerability in Parallels Desktop's IOCTL handler. The flaw allows a local low-privileged attacker to read past the end of an allocated buffer due to improper validation of user-supplied data. While the primary impact is information disclosure, the vulnerability can be chained with other flaws to achieve kernel-level code execution.
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< 15.1.3CVSS 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
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/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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Check if Parallels Desktop is installedOn macOS, open Terminal and run: ls /Applications/ | grep -i parallels or ls /Applications/Parallels\ Desktop.appAffected if Parallels Desktop application exists in /Applications folder
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Determine installed Parallels Desktop versionOn macOS, run: defaults read /Applications/Parallels\ Desktop.app/Contents/Info.plist CFBundleVersion or right-click the app in Finder > Get Info > VersionAffected if Version number returned is lower than 15.1.3
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Confirm Parallels service is running (IOCTL handler present)Open Terminal and run: ps aux | grep -i prl or check System Settings > General > Login Items for Parallels servicesAffected if Parallels services or daemons are running, indicating the vulnerable IOCTL handler is active
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Verify user privilegesRun: whoami and id to confirm if the current user is a standard (low-privilege) account rather than an administratorAffected if User has standard user rights, as the vulnerability allows a low-privileged attacker to exploit the IOCTL handler
You are affected if Parallels Desktop version is installed and is below 15.1.3, with the Parallels services running on the system.
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 data15.1.3
Apply the vendor patch for Parallels Desktop when available. Until then, restrict local code execution privileges and monitor for indicators of compromise, as the vulnerability enables potential kernel privilege escalation when combined with other exploits.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-8876 — 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-2020-8876 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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