CVE-2019-14688
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 · uneditedTrend Micro has repackaged installers for several Trend Micro products that were found to utilize a version of an install package that had a DLL hijack vulnerability that could be exploited during a new product installation. The vulnerability was found to ONLY be exploitable during an initial product installation by an authorized user. The attacker must convince the target to download malicious DLL locally which must be present when the installer is run.
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 confidenceDLL hijack vulnerability in Trend Micro repackaged installers where malicious DLL files can be loaded if present locally during initial product installation. Requires user cooperation to download the malicious DLL beforehand and run the installer.
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= 7.0= 1.6= 1.6.5= 9.8= xg= 14.0= 2019= 5.8= 6.0CVSS 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
- Local
- Complexity
- High
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
-
Identify installed Trend Micro productsOpen Windows Registry Editor (regedit) and navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall or check Add/Remove Programs for Trend Micro entriesAffected if Any Trend Micro product listed matches one of the affected products: Control Manager, Endpoint Sensor, IM Security, Mobile Security, OfficeScan, Scanmail, Security, or ServerProtect
-
Determine installed product versionCheck the product version in Windows Registry under the uninstall key for the identified Trend Micro product, or right-click the installed program in Add/Remove Programs and select Properties to view the Version fieldAffected if The installed version exactly matches any of these: Control Manager 7.0, Endpoint Sensor 1.6, IM Security 1.6.5, Mobile Security 9.8, OfficeScan XG, Scanmail 14.0, Security 2019, ServerProtect 5.8 or 6.0
-
Verify installation directory contentsLocate the installation directory (commonly C:\Program Files\Trend Micro or C:\Program Files (x86)\Trend Micro) and inspect for any unexpected or suspicious DLL files that were not part of the original installationAffected if Unexpected DLL files are present in the product installation folder that could indicate a previously attempted or successful DLL hijacking attack
You are affected if a Trend Micro product from the list is installed and its version exactly matches one of the specified vulnerable versions, and suspicious DLLs exist in or near the installation directory.
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 vendor-provided patches/updates from Trend Micro. Users should avoid downloading DLLs from untrusted sources and only use official installer packages from verified sources.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,728.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2019-14688 — 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-2019-14688 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
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
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.
- 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