# CVE-2024-6240: Improper privilege management vulnerability in Parallels Desktop

> Attackers can escalate privileges by injecting malicious code via the BASH_ENV variable during Parallels Desktop startup.

- **Severity:** High 7.7 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 21 Jun 2024
- **Updated:** 1 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-x5f6-gmwc-2843

## What is CVE-2024-6240?

CVE-2024-6240 is a high-severity vulnerability in Parallels Parallels Desktop, published on 21 Jun 2024. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

Improper privilege management vulnerability in Parallels Desktop Software, which affects versions earlier than 19.3.0. An attacker could add malicious code in a script and populate the BASH_ENV environment variable with the path to the malicious script, executing on application startup. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability to escalate privileges on the system.

Weakness: CWE-269 (Improper Privilege Management)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2024-6240?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Parallels Parallels Desktop.

## How do I fix CVE-2024-6240?

No fix has been published for CVE-2024-6240 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2024-6240 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2024-6240 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Parallels Parallels Desktop

- [CVE-2025-31359](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-31359/): Path traversal in Parallels Desktop for Mac (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2021-34864](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-34864/): Privilege escalation in Desktop (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2021-31420](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-31420/): Memory corruption in Desktop (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2021-31424](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-31424/): Memory corruption in Desktop (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2021-31425](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-31425/): Integer overflow in Desktop (high 8.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2024-6240 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2024-6240 is a high-severity vulnerability in Parallels Parallels Desktop, published on 21 Jun 2024. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2024-6240 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Parallels Parallels Desktop. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-6240/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-6240/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2024-6240
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-6240
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2024-6240

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-6240/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.