CVE-2026-90894

Parallels Desktop local privilege escalation via appliance extract argument injection

Published Sep 14, 2026 CVSS 3.1 · 7.8 High EPSS < 1% KEV · Not listed
Description
Parallels Desktop runs prl_disp_service as root. Local clients reach it on the world-writable socket /var/run/prl_disp_service.socket. PrlSrv_LoginLocal accepts peer credentials. No Parallels signature. No admin group.



After login, PrlSrv_InstallAppliance lets you pick the appliance folder (sVmParentPath). The daemon unpacks with one string, tar -xf "%1" -C "%2", then Qt QProcess::splitCommand chops that string into words. A quote in the folder name closes early. The leftover text becomes extra tar flags. macOS tar --use-compress-program= runs the named program as root.

Remediation

Vendor Solution

Upgrade to Parallels Desktop 27.0.0 or later.

Tracking

Sign in to view the affected projects.

Advisories

No advisories available
History
Type Values Removed Values Added
Metrics ssvc

{'options': {'Automatable': 'no', 'Exploitation': 'none', 'Technical Impact': 'total'}, 'version': '2.0.3'}

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description Parallels Desktop runs prl_disp_service as root. Local clients reach it on the world-writable socket /var/run/prl_disp_service.socket. PrlSrv_LoginLocal accepts peer credentials. No Parallels signature. No admin group. After login, PrlSrv_InstallAppliance lets you pick the appliance folder (sVmParentPath). The daemon unpacks with one string, tar -xf "%1" -C "%2", then Qt QProcess::splitCommand chops that string into words. A quote in the folder name closes early. The leftover text becomes extra tar flags. macOS tar --use-compress-program= runs the named program as root.
Title Parallels Desktop local privilege escalation via appliance extract argument injection
Weaknesses CWE-269
CWE-78
CWE-88
References
Metrics cvssV3_1

{'score': 7.8, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H'}

Subscriptions

No data.

Weaknesses

Sources

Status
PUBLISHED
Assigner
JFROG
Published
Updated
Sep 15, 2026, 8:49 AM
Reserved
Sep 14, 2026, 9:33 AM
Status
Awaiting Analysis
Published
Sep 14, 2026, 10:17 AM
Modified
Sep 18, 2026, 7:31 PM