CVE-2026-90894

Received Received - Intake

Privilege Escalation in Parallels Desktop via Tar Command Injection

Publication date: 2026-09-14

Last updated on: 2026-09-15

Assigner: JFrog

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.

CVSS Scores

EPSS Scores

Probability:
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Meta Information

Published

2026-09-14

Last Modified

2026-09-15

Generated

2026-09-15

AI Q&A

2026-09-14

EPSS Evaluated

N/A

NVD

CVE-2026-90894

EUVD

EUVD-2026-77346

Affected Vendors & Products

Vendor	Product	Version / Range
parallels	desktop	*
parallels	desktop	27.0.0
parallels	desktop	27.0.1

Helpful Resources

Exploitability

CWE

KEV

CWE ID	Description
CWE-78	The product constructs all or part of an OS command using externally-influenced input from an upstream component, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes special elements that could modify the intended OS command when it is sent to a downstream component.
CWE-88	The product constructs a string for a command to be executed by a separate component in another control sphere, but it does not properly delimit the intended arguments, options, or switches within that command string.
CWE-269	The product does not properly assign, modify, track, or check privileges for an actor, creating an unintended sphere of control for that actor.

Attack-Flow Graph

Executive Summary

Parallels Desktop runs prl_disp_service as root with a world-writable socket at /var/run/prl_disp_service.socket. Local clients can log in without admin rights or Parallels signatures. After login, PrlSrv_InstallAppliance allows choosing an appliance folder. The daemon uses a vulnerable tar command: tar -xf "%1" -C "%2". If the folder name contains quotes, it can inject extra tar flags. On macOS, tar --use-compress-program= runs the specified program as root, enabling local privilege escalation.

Detection Guidance

Check for the presence of the vulnerable socket /var/run/prl_disp_service.socket on macOS systems. Inspect running processes for prl_disp_service and verify if it is running as root. Look for unusual tar command executions with extra flags or unexpected programs being run via --use-compress-program.

Impact Analysis

An attacker with local access could exploit this to run arbitrary commands as root on the host system. This could allow full system compromise, data theft, or installation of malware. Since the socket is world-writable, any local user account could potentially exploit this vulnerability.

Compliance Impact

This vulnerability could lead to unauthorized root access, violating data protection requirements in GDPR and HIPAA. It may result in data breaches, unauthorized access to sensitive information, or loss of system integrity, all of which are compliance violations requiring breach notifications and potential fines.

Mitigation Strategies

Apply the latest Parallels Desktop update (27.0.1 or later) to patch the vulnerability. Remove write permissions from /var/run/prl_disp_service.socket if possible. Monitor for unauthorized tar command executions or unexpected root-level processes. Restrict user access to Parallels Desktop until patched.

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