Link following in Parallels Desktop for Mac
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- —
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · High · High
- Fix status
- No fix listed
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA.
Summary
A privilege escalation vulnerability exists in the Snapshot functionality of Parallels Desktop for Mac version 20.1.1 (build 55740). When a snapshot of a virtual machine is deleted, a root service verifies and modifies the ownership of the snapshot files. By using a symlink, an attacker can change the ownership of files owned by root to a lower-privilege user, potentially leading to privilege escalation.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- Poc
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Total
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
Remediation
No fixed version listed by the sources yet.
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2024-52561
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-h429-pw2c-7w4q
References
More Parallels Desktop vulnerabilities
- TI-2025-22549 Path traversal in Parallels Desktop for Mac CVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- TI-2024-36288 Link following in Parallels Desktop for Mac CVSS 3.1HIGH 7.8
- TI-2024-24264 Link following in Parallels Desktop for Mac CVSS 3.1HIGH 7.8
- TI-2024-05787 Improper privilege management in Parallels Desktop CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 10.0
- TI-2023-12061 Path traversal in Parallels Desktop CVSS 3.0HIGH 8.2
- TI-2023-27459 Out-of-bounds write in Parallels Desktop CVSS 3.0HIGH 8.3
Sources
- CVE-2024-52561 · CVE Program
- CVE-2024-52561 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-h429-pw2c-7w4q · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences