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Actively exploited in the wild. This CVE is on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list — treat remediation as urgent. Federal remediation due by 3 May 2022.
Apex OneApplication · Trendmicro

CVE-2020-8599

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-03-18
Patch available
A vendor patch is available. No clean upgrade release — apply the published patch.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
In the wild Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click Patch available

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
Trend Micro Apex One (2019) and OfficeScan XG server contain a vulnerable EXE file that could allow a remote attacker to write arbitrary data to an arbitrary path on affected installations and bypass ROOT login. Authentication is not required to exploit this vulnerability.

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 confidence

A vulnerable EXE file in Trend Micro Apex One (2019) and OfficeScan XG allows an unauthenticated remote attacker to write arbitrary data to arbitrary file system paths, which can be leveraged to bypass ROOT login authentication and achieve full system compromise.

MitigationApply the vendor-provided security patch for CVE-2020-8599; if patching is delayed, restrict network access to the Apex One/OfficeScan management interfaces and implement strict firewall rules.

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
Apex OneApplication
Affected:= 2019
OfficescanApplication
Affected:= xg

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:3.1/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 installed product and version
    Locate the installed Trend Micro product (Apex One 2019 or OfficeScan XG) and determine the exact version number. This is typically visible in the product console or system information.
    Affected if The installed version matches Apex One 2019 or OfficeScan XG (any patch level), placing it within the affected version range.
  2. Verify the vulnerable component exists
    Locate the specific executable or service module associated with the web console that handles authentication and file operations. Check if this component is present in the installation directory.
    Affected if The vulnerable executable that allows unauthenticated file writes is present in the environment.
  3. Check if remote access to the management console is enabled
    Determine whether the Apex One or OfficeScan management console is exposed to network access, either internally or externally. Verify the listening ports and binding configuration.
    Affected if The management interface is accessible remotely, enabling unauthenticated attackers to reach the vulnerable component.
  4. Review authentication configuration
    Inspect the authentication mechanism for the management console. Verify whether ROOT login authentication can be bypassed through the vulnerable executable pathway.
    Affected if The authentication bypass mechanism is present and the ROOT login protection can be circumvented.

Your environment is affected if you are running Apex One 2019 or OfficeScan XG with the vulnerable executable present and the management console accessible to network requests, as this combination allows unauthenticated remote code execution.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Patch available Apply the vendor patch
Vendor patch success.trendmicro.com →
Interim mitigation

Apply the vendor-provided security patch for CVE-2020-8599; if patching is delayed, restrict network access to the Apex One/OfficeScan management interfaces and implement strict firewall rules.

Recommended fix High confidence

Apex One 2019 with latest security patch (build 8449 or higher) / OfficeScan XG with latest security patch / Consider upgrading to Apex One (latest version)

  1. 1. Navigate to the Trend Micro Apex One/OfficeScan server console.
  2. 2. Go to Updates > Server > Components to check current patch level.
  3. 3. Apply the latest security patch for Apex One 2019 or OfficeScan XG from the Trend Micro Download Center.
  4. 4. Alternatively, upgrade to the latest supported version of Apex One (SaaS or on-premise) which contains the security fix.
  5. 5. After patching, verify the version by checking About in the console.
  6. 6. Review audit logs to confirm no exploitation occurred prior to remediation.
Caveat Standard upgrade path has minimal breaking changes; ensure compatibility with existing plugins and integrations before production deployment

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Apex One Exploited in the wild — priority engagement
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,930
Get it fixed fast

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,088.

Scan for this in your stack

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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-2020-8599 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