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Remote Application ServerApplication · Parallels

CVE-2020-8968

HIGH · 7.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-12-17
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 17.0 or later.
See remediation →
73/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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 Remote Application Server (RAS) allows a local attacker to retrieve certain profile password in clear text format by uploading a previously stored cyphered file by Parallels RAS. The confidentiality, availability and integrity of the information of the user could be compromised if an attacker is able to recover the profile password.

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 confidence

Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS) contains a vulnerability that allows a local attacker to recover profile passwords in clear text by uploading a previously stored encrypted file from Parallels RAS. The attacker exploits the ciphering mechanism to decrypt stored credentials.

MitigationRestrict local access to systems running Parallels RAS, rotate any exposed profile passwords immediately, and apply vendor patches when available. Monitor for unauthorized credential access attempts.

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
Remote Application ServerApplication
Affected:>= 15.5, <= 17.0

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
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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 checks

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

  1. Check installed Parallels RAS version
    Open Windows Registry and navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Parallels\Remote Application Server, or run 'rasc --version' from the installation directory, or check Add/Remove Programs for Parallels RAS version
    Affected if The installed version is between 15.5 and 17.0 inclusive
  2. Locate stored RAS profile credential files
    Search the Parallels RAS installation directory (typically C:\Program Files\Parallels\Remote Application Server) for .xml, .dat, or .enc files related to user profiles or stored credentials
    Affected if Encrypted profile files exist in the RAS data directories
  3. Identify RAS data storage locations
    Check the default data path at C:\ProgramData\Parallels\RAS or the configured data directory for files containing encrypted password data
    Affected if User profile or credential files with encrypted passwords are present in RAS data folders
  4. Verify file access controls on RAS credential storage
    Review NTFS permissions on the RAS data directories and verify which local users or groups have read access to stored credential files
    Affected if Non-administrative users have read access to encrypted credential files
  5. Audit for suspicious file access events
    Review Windows Security event logs or File Explorer auditing logs for unexpected access to RAS profile storage directories from non-standard accounts
    Affected if Audit logs show unauthorized access to RAS credential storage folders

A system is affected if Parallels RAS version 15.5 through 17.0 is installed and local users can access the encrypted profile credential files stored by RAS.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 17.0
Interim mitigation

Restrict local access to systems running Parallels RAS, rotate any exposed profile passwords immediately, and apply vendor patches when available. Monitor for unauthorized credential access attempts.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Parallels RAS version > 17.0 (e.g., 17.1 or later)

  1. 1. Identify the current installed Parallels Remote Application Server version.
  2. 2. Review the release notes or security advisories from Parallels for versions newer than 17.0 for security fixes related to credential storage.
  3. 3. Plan the upgrade during a maintenance window to minimize business impact.
  4. 4. Backup the current RAS configuration before upgrading.
  5. 5. Upgrade to a version newer than 17.0 (such as 17.1 or later if available).
  6. 6. After upgrade, verify that the profile password storage mechanism has been addressed and test that RAS functionality works correctly.
Caveat Upgrading RAS may require testing of published applications and user profiles; review compatibility notes for your published applications before upgrading.

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Remote Application Server Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,980
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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-2020-8968 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
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data