CVE-2020-15602
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 · uneditedAn untrusted search path remote code execution (RCE) vulnerability in the Trend Micro Secuity 2020 (v16.0.0.1146 and below) consumer family of products could allow an attacker to run arbitrary code on a vulnerable system. As the Trend Micro installer tries to load DLL files from its current directory, an arbitrary DLL could also be loaded with the same privileges as the installer if run as Administrator. User interaction is required to exploit the vulnerbaility in that the target must open a malicious directory or device.
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 confidenceThe Trend Micro Security 2020 installer (v16.0.0.1146 and below) loads DLL files from its current working directory without validating the path, allowing an attacker to place a malicious DLL in the same directory. When a user runs the installer from that compromised location with Administrator privileges, the attacker's DLL executes with those elevated permissions.
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<= 16.0.1146<= 16.0.1146<= 16.0.1146<= 16.0.1146CVSS 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
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/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.
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Check installed Trend Micro Security 2020 product versionOpen Programs and Features in Control Panel, locate any Trend Micro 2020 product (Antivirus+, Internet Security, Maximum Security, or Premium Security), and note the installed version. Alternatively, open the Trend Micro main console and check About or Help > About section.Affected if The installed version is 16.0.1146 or lower.
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Locate Trend Micro installer executable on the systemSearch for installer files such as 'TSSetup*.exe', 'TMISSetup*.exe', 'TMSSetup*.exe', or 'TrendMicro_I18N_*.exe' in common download and installation directories (e.g., Downloads folder, Temp folder, Desktop).Affected if Any Trend Micro installer executable version 16.0.1146 or lower is found on the system.
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Identify if installer was run from writable directoriesReview browser download history, check the Downloads folder, Desktop, or any user-writable directory for the installer. Interview users about where they downloaded or ran the installer from.Affected if The installer was run from a directory other than the official installation media or vendor download location.
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Scan for unexpected DLLs in installer directoriesIf the installer location is known, list all DLL files in that directory and compare against expected Trend Micro DLLs. Look for recently created or unfamiliar DLLs alongside the installer.Affected if Unknown or recently created DLL files are present in the same directory as the Trend Micro installer.
You are affected if a Trend Micro Security 2020 product version 16.0.1146 or lower is installed, or if the installer of that version exists on your system, especially if it may have been run from a writable or untrusted 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 dataUpdate Trend Micro Security 2020 to the latest patched version provided by the vendor. Avoid running the installer from untrusted or writable directories and verify the installation source integrity before execution.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 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 $3,984.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-15602 — 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-2020-15602 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data