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Smart Protection ServerApplication · Trendmicro

CVE-2018-6231

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2018-03-15
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 3.3 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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 · unedited
A server auth command injection authentication bypass vulnerability in Trend Micro Smart Protection Server (Standalone) versions 3.3 and below could allow remote attackers to escalate privileges 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 · moderate confidence

This is a command injection vulnerability in the server authentication component of Trend Micro Smart Protection Server (Standalone) versions 3.3 and below. The flaw allows remote attackers to inject commands through the auth mechanism, bypassing authentication entirely and escalating privileges to gain administrative control over the affected server.

MitigationUpgrade Trend Micro Smart Protection Server (Standalone) to a version higher than 3.3. If immediate patching is not possible, restrict network access to the management interface via firewall rules or VPN access to reduce the attack surface.

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
Smart Protection ServerApplication
Affected:<= 3.3

CVSS 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
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify if Smart Protection Server is installed
    Check for the presence of the Trend Micro Smart Protection Server service or web interface. On Windows, look for the service named 'Trend Micro Smart Protection Server' in Services. On Linux, check for the installation directory typically under /opt/trend/sps/ or query the package manager for installed Trend Micro packages.
    Affected if The product is not installed on the system.
  2. Retrieve the installed version number
    Access the management web console login page and check the version information usually displayed in the footer or About section. Alternatively, on the server itself, query the installed package: on Windows check Add/Remove Programs for the version, or on Linux run a package query command like 'rpm -q' or 'dpkg -l' for the Smart Protection Server package.
    Affected if The displayed version is 3.3 or lower.
  3. Confirm the deployment type is Standalone
    Verify this is the Standalone version and not a managed version hosted within Trend Micro Apex One or other centralized management. Check the product name in the web console header or in the installed programs list for 'Standalone' designation.
    Affected if The product is the Standalone variant and version is 3.3 or lower.
  4. Verify the management interface is network-accessible
    Attempt to access the Smart Protection Server web console login page over the network on the default HTTPS port (usually 4343) or check firewall rules and listening services to confirm the management interface is exposed to network attackers.
    Affected if The management interface is reachable from untrusted networks and the version is 3.3 or lower.

A system is affected if Trend Micro Smart Protection Server Standalone version 3.3 or lower is installed and its management interface is network-accessible, allowing remote attackers to inject commands through the auth mechanism.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 data
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 3.3
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Trend Micro Smart Protection Server (Standalone) to a version higher than 3.3. If immediate patching is not possible, restrict network access to the management interface via firewall rules or VPN access to reduce the attack surface.

Fix this in Smart Protection Server Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
19.0 hours of engineering $3,320
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,312.

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2018-6231 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • 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
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data