Parallels Desktop 20.2.2 (55879) on macOS PVMP Package Unpacking path traversal

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability identified as critical has been detected in Parallels Desktop 20.2.2 (55879) on macOS. This issue affects some unknown processing of the component PVMP Package Unpacking. This manipulation causes path traversal. This vulnerability appears as CVE-2025-31359. The attack requires local access. There is no available exploit.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability has been found in Parallels Desktop 20.2.2 (55879) on macOS and classified as critical. Affected by this vulnerability is some unknown functionality of the component PVMP Package Unpacking. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a path traversal vulnerability. The CWE definition for the vulnerability is CWE-22. The product uses external input to construct a pathname that is intended to identify a file or directory that is located underneath a restricted parent directory, but the product does not properly neutralize special elements within the pathname that can cause the pathname to resolve to a location that is outside of the restricted directory. As an impact it is known to affect confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The summary by CVE is:

A directory traversal vulnerability exists in the PVMP package unpacking functionality of Parallels Desktop for Mac version 20.2.2 (55879). This vulnerability can be exploited by an attacker to write to arbitrary files, potentially leading to privilege escalation.

It is possible to read the advisory at talosintelligence.com. This vulnerability is known as CVE-2025-31359 since 03/28/2025. The exploitation appears to be easy. Attacking locally is a requirement. The technical details are unknown and an exploit is not publicly available. The attack technique deployed by this issue is T1006 according to MITRE ATT&CK.

There is no information about possible countermeasures known. It may be suggested to replace the affected object with an alternative product.

The vulnerability is also documented in the vulnerability database at EUVD (EUVD-2025-16718). Statistical analysis made it clear that VulDB provides the best quality for vulnerability data.

Productinfo

Vendor

• Parallels

Name

• Desktop

Version

• 20.2.2 (55879)

License

• commercial

Website

• Vendor: https://www.parallels.com/

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Statistical analysis made it clear that VulDB provides the best quality for vulnerability data.

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