Advisory Details

This vulnerability allows local attackers to escalate privileges on affected installations of Parallels Desktop. An attacker must first obtain the ability to execute high-privileged code on the target guest system in order to exploit this vulnerability.

The specific flaw exists within the virtio-net virtual device. The issue results from the lack of proper validation of user-supplied data, which can result in a memory corruption condition. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to escalate privileges and execute arbitrary code in the context of the hypervisor.

This vulnerability is being disclosed publicly without a patch in accordance with the ZDI 120 day deadline.

03/24/21 – ZDI reported the vulnerability to the vendor
03/26/21 – The vendor acknowledged the report
08/20/21 – ZDI requested an update
08/27/21 – ZDI requested an update
08/27/21 – The vendor indicated a fix would be included in the next release
08/27/21 – ZDI requested an ETA for the next release and notified the vendor of the intention to publish the report as a 0-day advisory
09/07/21 – ZDI notified the vendor of the intention to publish the case as a 0-day advisory on 09/14/21

-- Mitigation:
Given the nature of the vulnerability the only salient mitigation strategy is to restrict interaction with the application.

• 2021-03-24 - Vulnerability reported to vendor
• 2021-09-14 - Coordinated public release of advisory