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Parallels AccessApplication · Parallels

CVE-2022-34901

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 6.5.4 (39316) Agent. An attacker must first obtain the ability to execute low-privileged code on the target host system in order to exploit this vulnerability. The specific flaw exists within the Parallels Service. The service executes files from an unsecured location. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to escalate privileges and execute arbitrary code in the context of root. Was ZDI-CAN-16137.

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 confidence

This is a local privilege escalation vulnerability in Parallels Access Agent 6.5.4. The Parallels Service runs as root and executes files from an unsecured location (likely a world-writable directory). An attacker with low-privileged code execution can place a malicious executable in this location; when the service runs or restarts, it executes the attacker's code with root privileges, achieving full system compromise.

MitigationSecure the unsecured file execution location by restricting directory permissions to prevent write access by non-privileged users, and apply the vendor patch when available.

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_\(39316\)

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. Check installed Parallels Access version
    Run 'ls /Applications | grep -i parallels' or check installed packages via 'dpkg -l | grep -i parallels' (Debian) or 'rpm -qa | grep -i parallels' (RHEL). Also check /Library/Application Support/Parallels/ for version info.
    Affected if Version is 6.5.4_(39316)
  2. Identify Parallels service running as root
    Run 'ps aux | grep -i parallels' or 'systemctl list-units | grep -i parallels' to find services named 'prl_*' or 'Parallels*' running as root (check UID column for 0).
    Affected if A Parallels service is running with UID 0 (root)
  3. Find the unsecured file execution location
    Run 'ls -la /tmp' and look for any Parallels-related directories or scripts. Examine the service binary via 'strings' or 'lsof' on the running process to find file paths it references. Check common locations: /tmp, /var/tmp, or application support directories.
    Affected if The service executes files from a directory that is accessible to low-privileged users
  4. Verify directory permissions are world-writable
    Run 'ls -ld <directory_path>' on the identified execution directory. Check for 'drwxrwxrwx' permissions or equivalent. Use 'find /tmp -perm -0002 -type d' to list world-writable directories.
    Affected if The directory used for file execution has write permissions for others (world-writable or group-writable with accessible group)

Affected if Parallels Access version 6.5.4_(39316) is installed AND the service executes from a world-writable directory accessible to non-root users.

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
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Secure the unsecured file execution location by restricting directory permissions to prevent write access by non-privileged users, and apply the vendor patch when available.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Latest available version of Parallels Access (check kb.parallels.com for version >= 6.5.4 with build number higher than 39316)

  1. 1. Identify the current installed version of Parallels Access on the target system
  2. 2. Navigate to the official Parallels support page at kb.parallels.com to check for available updates
  3. 3. Download and install the latest version of Parallels Access that includes the security fix for CVE-2022-34901
  4. 4. Verify the installation completed successfully and confirm the new version number
  5. 5. Restart the Parallels Service if not automatically restarted after update
  6. 6. Test that Parallels Access functionality remains operational after the update

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

Fix this in Parallels Access Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,420
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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-2022-34901 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