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Parallels AccessApplication · Parallels

CVE-2022-34900

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-07-18
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
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
This vulnerability allows local attackers to escalate privileges on affected installations of Parallels Access 6.5.3 (39313) Agent. 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 Dispatcher service. The service loads an OpenSSL configuration file from an unsecured location. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to escalate privileges and execute arbitrary code in the context of SYSTEM. Was ZDI-CAN-15213.

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

The Dispatcher service in Parallels Access Agent loads an OpenSSL configuration file from an unsecured location that low-privileged users can modify. An attacker with initial low-privileged code execution can place a malicious OpenSSL config file in this location, causing the privileged service to load attacker-controlled configuration and execute arbitrary code in SYSTEM context.

MitigationRestrict file system permissions on the OpenSSL configuration directory to prevent low-privileged users from modifying the config file, or relocate the configuration to a secured directory with appropriate access controls. Verify the service loads configs only from protected locations.

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 AccessApplication
Affected:= 6.5.4_\(39313\)

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
High

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

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

  1. Identify if Parallels Access is installed
    Check the installed programs list or look for Parallels Access installation directory in Program Files. On Windows, check Registry under HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall for Parallels Access entry.
    Affected if Parallels Access is not found on the system, the vulnerability does not apply.
  2. Verify the installed version
    Locate the Parallels Access version information in the installed program details or the application executable properties. Compare your installed version against the affected version: 6.5.4_(39313).
    Affected if The installed version matches exactly 6.5.4_(39313), indicating the vulnerable release.
  3. Locate the Dispatcher service OpenSSL configuration
    Identify the service executable for the Parallels Access Dispatcher service and examine any configuration files or documentation that specifies the OpenSSL config file path loaded by this service.
    Affected if An OpenSSL configuration file path is found that the Dispatcher service loads at runtime.
  4. Check file permissions on the OpenSSL config location
    Review the file system permissions (ACL) on the identified OpenSSL configuration directory. Determine if standard users or low-privileged accounts have Write or Modify permissions to this location.
    Affected if Low-privileged users can write or modify files in the directory containing the OpenSSL configuration that the Dispatcher service loads.
  5. Verify if the vulnerable config path is in use
    Confirm whether the Dispatcher service is configured to load OpenSSL configuration from the directory with weak permissions identified in the previous step.
    Affected if The Dispatcher service loads its OpenSSL config from a location accessible to low-privileged users.

A user is affected if Parallels Access version 6.5.4_(39313) is installed AND the Dispatcher service loads an OpenSSL configuration from a directory where standard users have write/modify access.

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

Restrict file system permissions on the OpenSSL configuration directory to prevent low-privileged users from modifying the config file, or relocate the configuration to a secured directory with appropriate access controls. Verify the service loads configs only from protected locations.

Fix this in Parallels Access Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing5.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
16.0 hours of engineering $2,790
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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-2022-34900 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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