CVE-2022-34890
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 17.1.1 (51537). An attacker must first obtain the ability to execute low-privileged code on the target guest system in order to exploit this vulnerability. The specific flaw exists within the Parallels Tools component. The issue results from the lack of proper validation of a user-supplied value prior to dereferencing it as a pointer. An attacker can leverage this in conjunction with other vulnerabilities to escalate privileges and execute arbitrary code in the context of the kernel. Was ZDI-CAN-16653.
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 confidenceA pointer dereference vulnerability in the Parallels Tools component of Parallels Desktop 17.1.1 allows local attackers with low-privileged guest code execution to validate user-supplied values improperly before pointer dereference, potentially enabling privilege escalation to kernel context when chained with other vulnerabilities.
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= 17.1.1_\(51537\)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
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
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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Confirm Parallels Desktop is installedLook for Parallels Desktop application in /Applications folder on macOS, or check installed programs on the host systemAffected if Parallels Desktop is not installed - the vulnerability only affects this product
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Identify installed Parallels Desktop versionUse 'Parallels Desktop' menu > 'About Parallels Desktop' or check the application info.plist, or run 'prlctl --version' if availableAffected if Version is exactly 17.1.1_(51537) - this is the only affected version listed
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Verify Parallels Tools presence in guest VMCheck if Parallels Tools are installed inside the guest VM - look for Parallels Tools icon in the guest OS system tray/menu bar, or check for Parallels Tools kernel extensions or servicesAffected if Parallels Tools are installed in the guest VM - the vulnerability is in the Parallels Tools component
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Check for low-privileged code execution in guestReview guest VM user accounts and permissions - determine if untrusted or low-privileged users can execute code in the guest VMAffected if Low-privileged users can execute code in the guest VM - this is required for the attack vector
User is affected if Parallels Desktop version 17.1.1_(51537) is installed AND Parallels Tools are present in the guest VM where low-privileged code execution is possible.
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 dataApply vendor patches for Parallels Desktop 17.1.1 and ensure Parallels Tools are updated; restrict untrusted code execution in guest VMs as a defense-in-depth measure until patches are applied.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-34890 — 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-2022-34890 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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