CVE-2024-34331
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 · uneditedA lack of code signature verification in Parallels Desktop for Mac v19.3.0 and below allows attackers to escalate privileges via a crafted macOS installer, because Parallels Service is setuid root.
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 confidenceThis is a privilege escalation vulnerability in Parallels Desktop for Mac where lack of code signature verification in the installer mechanism allows attackers to install and execute malicious code with root privileges. The Parallels Service runs as setuid root, enabling a crafted malicious installer to bypass authentication and escalate to full system privileges.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
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
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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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Check if Parallels Desktop is installedLook for Parallels Desktop in /Applications/ or check via Spotlight. Also verify if the Parallels Service binary exists at a path like /Applications/Parallels Desktop/Parallels Service.app or similar locations.Affected if Parallels Desktop is not found in the system - the user is not affected.
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Determine the installed Parallels Desktop versionRun '/Applications/Parallels Desktop.app/Contents/MacOS/prl_client_app --version' or right-click the Parallels Desktop app in /Applications and select Get Info to view the version. Alternatively, run 'prlctl --version' if the command-line tools are installed.Affected if The installed version is 19.3.0 or lower - the version falls within the affected range.
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Verify the Parallels Service binary has setuid root permissionsLocate the Parallels Service binary (typically in /Applications/Parallels Desktop/Contents/MacOS/ or within the Parallels Service.app bundle) and run 'ls -la <path-to-binary>' to inspect permissions. Look for 's' in the owner execute field (e.g., '-rwsr-xr-x').Affected if The Parallels Service binary has the setuid bit set (owner permissions show 's' instead of 'x') - the privilege escalation vector is present.
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Confirm code signature verification status (if detectable)Run 'codesign -dv --verbose=4 /Applications/Parallels Desktop/Contents/MacOS/prl_client_app' or similar binaries to check code signature details. Review the output for 'Signature=...' and 'Info.plist=...' entries. Note: The vulnerability exists precisely because this verification was missing in affected versions.Affected if Code signature verification is absent or invalid on the Parallels binaries - the vulnerability condition is confirmed.
The user is affected if Parallels Desktop version 19.3.0 or lower is installed AND the Parallels Service binary has setuid root permissions, indicating the lack of code signature verification vulnerability is present.
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 dataUpdate Parallels Desktop to version 19.3.1 or later which includes code signature verification. Alternatively, remove or disable Parallels Desktop if not required.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA0.5 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2024-34331 — 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-2024-34331 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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