# CVE-2026-90894 — Parallels Desktop for Mac

> As of 2026-09-15, CVE-2026-90894 is a HIGH-severity vulnerability in Parallels Desktop for Mac, CVSS v3.1 7.8, EPSS 0.1% (4.4th percentile). Threadlinqs Intelligence links 1 tracked threat campaign to CVE-2026-90894, most recently “CVE-2026-90894 ("ParaShells"): Parallels Desktop for Mac Local Privilege Escalation via Appliance Extract Argument Injection”.

**Last updated:** 2026-09-15

## What is CVE-2026-90894?

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.

The record classifies CVE-2026-90894 under weakness classes [CWE-88](https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/88.html), [CWE-78](https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/78.html), [CWE-269](https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/269.html). Its CVSS v3 base vector states that the flaw requires local access to the host, needs low-privilege credentials, needs no user interaction, and has high impact on confidentiality, integrity, availability. 1 affected-product entry is recorded, across 1 vendor, listed below. The identifier was first published 4 days ago.

## Severity and exploitation probability

- **CVSS v3.1 base score:** 7.8 — HIGH (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **EPSS (FIRST):** 0.1% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 4.4% of all scored CVEs
- **CISA KEV:** Not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog
- **Threadlinqs priority:** 4.1/10 — a Threadlinqs composite of the CVSS base score, the EPSS percentile and public exploit availability
- **Published:** 2026-09-14, last modified 2026-09-15

## Is CVE-2026-90894 being exploited?

No public exploitation evidence for CVE-2026-90894 is recorded in the sources Threadlinqs tracks — CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, public proof-of-concept repositories and ProjectDiscovery Nuclei — as of 2026-09-15. That is an absence of evidence in those feeds, not a guarantee that the vulnerability is unexploited.

## Affected products and versions

- **Parallels**: Desktop for Mac

## How to fix CVE-2026-90894

No vendor patch reference has been recorded for CVE-2026-90894 in the tracked sources. Follow the references below for a fix, and treat the products listed above as exposed until the vendor states otherwise.

## Threat activity tracking CVE-2026-90894

1 tracked threat in the Threadlinqs corpus references CVE-2026-90894, either in the campaign’s CVE list or as an indicator on the campaign record.

- [CVE-2026-90894 ("ParaShells"): Parallels Desktop for Mac Local Privilege Escalation via Appliance Extract Argument Injection](https://intel.threadlinqs.com/threat/TL-2026-2536) — HIGH · 2026-09-16

## Sources

Enriched from CVE.org, NVD, FIRST EPSS, GitHub Security Advisories. Last verified by Threadlinqs on 2026-09-17. This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD.

**Vendor advisory and patch**

- [kb.parallels.com — release notes](https://kb.parallels.com/en/131168)

**Issue tracking and product pages**

- [parallels.com — product](https://www.parallels.com/products/desktop/)

Canonical: https://intel.threadlinqs.com/cve/CVE-2026-90894
Full detection coverage and IOCs for threats exploiting CVE-2026-90894 via the Threadlinqs MCP server (Purple tier): https://intel.threadlinqs.com/mcp