CVE-2025-0413
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 · uneditedParallels Desktop Technical Data Reporter Link Following Local Privilege Escalation Vulnerability. This vulnerability allows local attackers to escalate privileges on affected installations of Parallels Desktop. 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 Technical Data Reporter component. By creating a symbolic link, an attacker can abuse the service to change the permissions of arbitrary files. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to escalate privileges and execute arbitrary code in the context of root. Was ZDI-CAN-25014.
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 symlink following vulnerability in the Technical Data Reporter component of Parallels Desktop allows local attackers with low-privileged code execution to escalate to root by creating symbolic links that abuse the service into changing permissions of arbitrary files, enabling execution of arbitrary code in root context.
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< 19.4.3.2-25228>= 19.0-23304, < 19.4.3-25221>= 20.0-25389, < 20.2-25889CVSS 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:3.0/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 Technical Data Reporter installationLook for the Technical Data Reporter service or component in the system services list, or search for executable files related to Parallels reporting/telemetry servicesAffected if The Technical Data Reporter component is present and running on the system
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Check installed Parallels versionUse 'prlctl --version' or check the installed Parallels Desktop application version through the GUI About menu or installed packagesAffected if The installed version falls within the affected ranges: < 19.4.3-25221 for version 19.x, < 20.2-25889 for version 20.x, or < 19.4.3.2-25228 for Remote Application Server
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Verify Technical Data Reporter service statusCheck if the Technical Data Reporter service is enabled and running using system service management tools or by searching for process names related to data reportingAffected if The Technical Data Reporter service is currently running or enabled to start
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Inspect for unauthorized symlinks in service directoriesSearch service directories (typically /var/log, /tmp, or Parallels installation directories) for newly created symbolic links, especially those pointing to sensitive system files or directoriesAffected if Unexpected symbolic links exist in or near Parallels service directories
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Review file permission changesAudit system logs or use file integrity monitoring tools to check for unexpected permission changes on system files, particularly those owned by rootAffected if There are recent permission changes on system files that were not initiated by an administrator
A system is affected if it runs a vulnerable Parallels product version with the Technical Data Reporter component enabled, and an attacker with low-privileged access could exploit symlink injection to escalate to root.
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.
dbcve · scoped19.4.3.2-2522819.4.3-2522120.2-25889
Apply vendor-supplied patches when available; if patches are unavailable, restrict or disable the Technical Data Reporter service and monitor for unauthorized symlink creation in service directories.
Parallels Desktop 19.4.3 (build 25221) or later; Parallels Desktop 20.2 (build 25889) or later; Parallels Remote Application Server 19.4.3.2 (build 25228) or later
- Identify the installed Parallels Desktop version from the Help > About menu
- For Parallels Desktop version 19.x: Upgrade to version 19.4.3 (build 25221) or later
- For Parallels Desktop version 20.x: Upgrade to version 20.2 (build 25889) or later
- If using Parallels Remote Application Server: Upgrade to version 19.4.3.2 (build 25228) or later
- Verify the upgrade was successful by checking Help > About shows the fixed build number
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-0413 — 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-2025-0413 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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