Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2020-17390 is a local privilege-escalation issue in Parallels Desktop 15.1.2-47123. A person or malware already running with low privileges on the Mac could abuse a hypervisor kernel extension flaw to run code in the hypervisor context. The provided sources do not show KEV-listed or cited active exploitation.
Executive priority
Treat this as a low-priority but valid endpoint hardening item. It is not remotely exploitable from the supplied evidence, but affected virtualization hosts can matter because they may handle sensitive workloads.
Technical view
The flaw is CWE-125, an out-of-bounds read caused by insufficient validation of user-supplied data in the hypervisor kernel extension. CVSS 3.0 is 3.8 (AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:N/A:N), requiring local access and low privileges, with low confidentiality impact and no integrity or availability impact in the vector.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited to systems running Parallels Desktop 15.1.2-47123. The attacker must already execute low-privileged code locally, so internet-facing exposure is not indicated by the provided sources.
Exploitation context
No supplied source states active exploitation, and the CVE is not marked KEV. The vulnerability was reported through ZDI as ZDI-CAN-10030 and requires local, low-privileged code execution before exploitation.
Researcher notes
Key constraints are local attack vector, required low privileges, and the specific affected build. The source bundle does not provide exploit details or a named fixed version, so validation should focus on installed versions and current Parallels advisory guidance.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory Macs running Parallels Desktop and identify version 15.1.2-47123.
- Review Parallels KB 125013 for vendor guidance and available updates.
- Prioritize patching on shared, developer, or high-value virtualization hosts.
- Limit local user privileges and untrusted code execution on affected Macs.
Validation and detection
- Confirm installed Parallels Desktop versions on managed macOS endpoints.
- Check whether any hosts still run version 15.1.2-47123.
- Verify remediation against Parallels KB 125013 rather than assuming a fixed version.
- Review endpoint telemetry for suspicious local code execution on affected hosts.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-125: Exact CWE lookup
Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2020-17390 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- Low
- CVSS
- 3.8 (3.0)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:N/A:N
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:N/A:N21.4Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.0 score
3.8LowVector: CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:N/A:N
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://www.zerodayinitiative.com/advisories/ZDI-20-1008/CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- https://kb.parallels.com/en/125013CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Out-of-bounds Read
Out-of-bounds Read represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.