CVE-2022-34902
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 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 system in order to exploit this vulnerability. The specific flaw exists within the Desktop Control Agent service. The service loads Qt plugins 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-15787.
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 local privilege escalation vulnerability in Parallels Access 6.5.4 Agent's Desktop Control Service allows attackers with low-privileged code execution to escalate to SYSTEM by loading Qt plugins from an unsecured, attacker-controllable location.
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= 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify installed Parallels Access versionCheck the installed version of Parallels Access through Windows Programs and Features (appwiz.cpl), the registry under HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall, or by examining the executable properties of the Parallels Access agent binary.Affected if The installed version is 6.5.4 build 39316 exactly (6.5.4_(39316)).
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Verify the Desktop Control Service existsOpen Services (services.msc) and locate the Parallels Desktop Control Service or similar-named service associated with Parallels Access Agent. Check if it is running or set to run.Affected if The Desktop Control Service from Parallels Access 6.5.4 is present and installed on the system.
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Locate Qt plugin directories for Parallels AccessSearch the Parallels Access installation directory (typically under Program Files or Program Files x86) for subdirectories named 'plugins', 'QtPlugins', or containing Qt-related DLLs and plugin configurations.Affected if Qt plugin directories exist within the Parallels Access installation path.
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Check write permissions on plugin directoriesRight-click the identified plugin directories, go to Properties > Security, and verify which users or groups have Write or Modify permissions. Use icacls from command line for detailed ACL inspection.Affected if Low-privileged users or the Users group have Write or Modify permissions on the Qt plugin directories.
A system is affected if Parallels Access version 6.5.4 build 39316 is installed AND the Desktop Control Service is present AND the Qt plugin directories are writable by low-privileged users.
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 the vendor security patch for Parallels Access. As an interim measure, restrict write permissions on plugin directories and monitor for unauthorized binary placement in plugin paths.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-34902 — 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-2022-34902 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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