CVE-2018-18332
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedA Trend Micro OfficeScan XG weak file permissions vulnerability may allow an attacker to potentially manipulate permissions on some key files to modify other files and folders on vulnerable installations.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceTrend Micro OfficeScan XG contains weak file permissions on certain key files and folders, allowing an attacker to modify permissions and subsequently alter or manipulate other system files. This local privilege escalation vulnerability enables modification of files that should be protected by stricter access controls.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data= xgCVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Confirm OfficeScan XG is installedCheck the installed version of Trend Micro OfficeScan on the system. On Windows, this can be found in Add/Remove Programs, the product GUI About section, or by checking registry keys under HKLM\SOFTWARE\TrendMicro\OfficeScan\service\Information. On Linux, check /opt/Trend_Micro/OfficeScan/ or use rpm/dpkg queries if installed via package manager.Affected if The installed version is Trend Micro OfficeScan XG (any build)
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Locate OfficeScan installation directoryIdentify the primary installation path of OfficeScan. Common paths include C:\Program Files\Trend Micro\OfficeScan\ on Windows or /opt/Trend_Micro/OfficeScan/ on Linux. The exact path varies by installation.Affected if OfficeScan XG installation directory exists on the system
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Check file permissions on key OfficeScan executablesReview access control lists (ACLs) on critical OfficeScan executables and services, particularly those in the installation bin folder. Use icacls (Windows) or ls -la (Linux) to examine who has Write or Modify permissions on files such as the main OfficeScan service executable, configuration files, and DLLs.Affected if Low-privilege users (such as the Users group or Everyone) have Write or Modify access to key executables, services, or DLL files that should be protected
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Check folder permissions on OfficeScan directoriesExamine folder permissions on the OfficeScan installation directory and subdirectories. Identify folders that grant Write or Modify permissions to overly broad principals (Everyone, Users, Authenticated Users) beyond what is necessary for normal operation.Affected if Folders within the OfficeScan installation grant excessive permissions to non-administrative users, allowing potential modification of protected system files
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Verify permission inheritance on protected locationsCheck whether file permission modifications on OfficeScan files could affect other system locations. Specifically, determine if an attacker with low-privilege access could alter OfficeScan components to gain elevated privileges or manipulate other protected system files.Affected if Weak permissions on OfficeScan files could be exploited to escalate privileges or modify files outside the intended OfficeScan scope
If Trend Micro OfficeScan XG is installed and key files or folders within its installation directory grant excessive permissions to low-privilege users, the environment is affected by this vulnerability.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor dataApply the vendor patch or security update for CVE-2018-18332 to restore proper file permissions on the OfficeScan XG installation. If no patch available, manually audit and harden file/folder permissions according to vendor hardening guidelines.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-18332 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2018-18332 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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