# CVE-2026-90894: Parallels Desktop privilege escalation in prl_disp_service

Source: https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-90894-parallels-desktop-privilege-escalation-in-prl-disp-service  
Publisher: Junglewise Threat Intelligence, https://junglewise.ai/threats  
Published: 2026-09-14. Updated: 2026-09-26  
License: CC BY 4.0 with a link back

CVE-2026-90894 · Severity: high · CVSS 7.8 · Published 2026-09-14

Parallels Desktop's display service runs with root privileges and listens on a world-writable socket, allowing any local user to connect. An attacker can exploit command-injection flaws in the appliance installation feature to execute arbitrary commands with root privileges. This could allow a local user to gain complete control of the system and access all data.

Vendors: [Parallels](https://junglewise.ai/threats/vendors/parallels).

## Quick answers

**Is CVE-2026-90894 exploited in the wild?** No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-2026-90894 being exploited in the wild.

**How severe is CVE-2026-90894?** High severity, with a CVSS score of 7.8, published 14 September 2026.

**Which products and versions are affected?** Parallels Desktop for Mac 26 and earlier, 27.0.0–27.0.1.

**Is there a fix for CVE-2026-90894?** A patch was published on 2026-09-17: Parallels Desktop 27.0.2 (58673) released Junglewise finds every place you run it, drafts the upgrade and applies it once you approve.

**How is CVE-2026-90894 attacked?** It is attacked with local access, in a network appliance.

**Am I affected by CVE-2026-90894?** Check whether you run Parallels Desktop for Mac at an affected version. Junglewise does that check for you around the clock: connect your code, cloud and domains, and it matches new vulnerabilities like this one against what you actually run and tells you when one reaches you.

## Technical details

The vulnerability involves multiple weaknesses in prl_disp_service, a root-privileged daemon: (1) the socket /var/run/prl_disp_service.socket is world-writable, (2) local authentication (PrlSrv_LoginLocal) lacks proper validation, and (3) the PrlSrv_InstallAppliance function constructs a tar command with unsanitized user input. When an attacker specifies an appliance folder path containing quotes, Qt's QProcess::splitCommand parser treats the quote as a command-line separator, injecting additional tar flags. On macOS, the --use-compress-program flag allows execution of arbitrary programs as root. No patch has been publicly disclosed, though Parallels Desktop 27.0.2 is mentioned as addressing security vulnerabilities.

## Affected products

- Parallels Desktop for Mac 26 and earlier, 27.0.0–27.0.1

## Timeline

- 2026-09-14: disclosed
- 2026-09-17: patched: Parallels Desktop 27.0.2 (58673) released

## References

- [https://kb.parallels.com/en/131168](https://kb.parallels.com/en/131168)
- [https://www.parallels.com/products/desktop/](https://www.parallels.com/products/desktop/)