CVE-2025-30074
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 · uneditedAlludo Parallels Desktop before 19.4.2 and 20.x before 20.2.2 for macOS on Intel platforms allows privilege escalation to root via the VM creation routine.
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 exists in Parallels Desktop for macOS on Intel platforms. The flaw in the VM creation routine allows an authenticated local user to gain root privileges by exploiting improper privilege handling during virtual machine creation.
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
- Local
- Complexity
- High
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/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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Verify Parallels Desktop is installedCheck for Parallels Desktop application in /Applications folder, or run 'ls /Applications | grep -i parallels'Affected if Parallels Desktop is present on the system
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Determine installed Parallels Desktop versionRun 'prlctl --version' or right-click Parallels Desktop.app > Get Info to view version numberAffected if Version is 19.x before 19.4.2, or 20.x before 20.2.2, or any version older than these release points
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Confirm system uses Intel processorRun 'sysctl -n machdep.cpu.brand_string' or check System Information > Processor. Apple Silicon Macs are not affected.Affected if System is Intel-based and Parallels Desktop version is in the affected range listed above
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Verify VM creation capability is accessibleConfirm the user account has access to create VMs in Parallels - this is a standard user capability in Parallels DesktopAffected if User can access Parallels Desktop and create virtual machines on the affected version
User is affected if running Parallels Desktop on an Intel-based Mac with version 19.x before 19.4.2 or version 20.x before 20.2.2, where an authenticated local user can leverage VM creation to escalate privileges.
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 · scopedUpdate Parallels Desktop to version 19.4.2 or 20.2.2 or later to remediate this vulnerability. As this is a local privilege escalation, network-based controls are not applicable; patching is the primary remediation path.
Parallels Desktop 19.4.2 or 20.2.2 (or later)
- Open Parallels Desktop and go to the menu bar, click Parallels Desktop > Check for Updates
- If an update is available, download and install Parallels Desktop 19.4.2 or later (for version 19.x) or 20.2.2 or later (for version 20.x)
- Alternatively, download the latest version directly from kb.parallels.com or the official Parallels website
- Restart your Mac after installation to ensure the update is fully applied
- Verify the installed version by going to Parallels Desktop > About Parallels Desktop and confirm the version number meets the fixed release requirements
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-30074 — 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-2025-30074 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data