CVE-2024-36486
A privilege escalation vulnerability exists in the virtual machine archive restoration...
A privilege escalation vulnerability exists in the virtual machine archive restoration functionality of Parallels Desktop for Mac version 20.1.1 (55740). When an archived virtual machine is restored, the prl_vmarchiver tool decompresses the file and writes the content back to its original location using root privileges. An attacker can exploit this process by using a hard link to write to an arbitrary file, potentially resulting in privilege escalation.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges needed
- Low
- User interaction
- None
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
CVE List Score used
7.8
A privilege escalation vulnerability exists in the virtual machine archive restoration functionality of Parallels Desktop for Mac version 20.1.1 (55740). When an archived virtual machine is restored, the prl_vmarchiver tool decompresses the file and writes the content back to its original location using root privileges. An attacker can exploit this process by using a hard link to write to an arbitrary file, potentially resulting in privilege escalation.
- Record
CVE-2024-36486- CVSS 3.1
- 7.8 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-62
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2024-54643
7.8
A privilege escalation vulnerability exists in the virtual machine archive restoration functionality of Parallels Desktop for Mac version 20.1.1 (55740). When an archived virtual machine is restored, the prl_vmarchiver tool decompresses the file and writes the content back to its original location using root privileges. An attacker can exploit this process by using a hard link to write to an arbitrary file, potentially resulting in privilege escalation.
- Record
EUVD-2024-54643- CVSS 3.1
- 7.8 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-w3cx-68mp-rwcw
7.8
A privilege escalation vulnerability exists in the virtual machine archive restoration...
A privilege escalation vulnerability exists in the virtual machine archive restoration functionality of Parallels Desktop for Mac version 20.1.1 (55740). When an archived virtual machine is restored, the prl_vmarchiver tool decompresses the file and writes the content back to its original location using root privileges. An attacker can exploit this process by using a hard link to write to an arbitrary file, potentially resulting in privilege escalation.
- Record
GHSA-w3cx-68mp-rwcw- CVSS 3.1
- 7.8 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-59, CWE-62
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
NVD
7.8
A privilege escalation vulnerability exists in the virtual machine archive restoration functionality of Parallels Desktop for Mac version 20.1.1 (55740). When an archived virtual machine is restored, the prl_vmarchiver tool decompresses the file and writes the content back to its original location using root privileges. An attacker can exploit this process by using a hard link to write to an arbitrary file, potentially resulting in privilege escalation.
- Record
CVE-2024-36486- CVSS 3.1
- 7.8 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-62, CWE-59
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| first indexed | CVE List, EUVD, GitHub Advisories, NVD |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2024-36486 is a high vulnerability (CVSS 7.8) in Parallels Desktop For Mac, published June 3, 2025. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 0.34%, the 27th percentile. No source names a fixed version.