dbcve.org
Password ManagerApplication · Trendmicro

CVE-2021-32462

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-07-08
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 5.0.0.1217 or later.
See remediation →
94/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable 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
Trend Micro Password Manager (Consumer) version 5.0.0.1217 and below is vulnerable to an Exposed Hazardous Function Remote Code Execution vulnerability which could allow an unprivileged client to manipulate the registry and escalate privileges to SYSTEM on affected installations. Authentication is 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 · moderate confidence

Trend Micro Password Manager versions 5.0.0.1217 and below contains an Exposed Hazardous Function vulnerability allowing authenticated unprivileged users to manipulate Windows registry keys, leading to privilege escalation from user-level to SYSTEM and remote code execution.

MitigationUpgrade Trend Micro Password Manager to a version newer than 5.0.0.1217. If immediate patching is not possible, restrict user access to the application and implement monitoring for unauthorized registry modifications.

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
Password ManagerApplication
Affected:<= 5.0.0.1217

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
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/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. Confirm Trend Micro Password Manager installation
    Open Programs and Features or check the following registry key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\{GUID} for DisplayName containing 'Trend Micro Password Manager'
    Affected if The software is not found on the system, the vulnerability does not apply
  2. Identify installed version
    Check the registry value 'DisplayVersion' under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\{GUID} for the Password Manager entry, or right-click the main executable (commonly in C:\Program Files\Trend Micro\Password Manager\) and view Properties > Details > File Version
    Affected if Version cannot be determined or is higher than 5.0.0.1217, the specific flaw is not present
  3. Compare version to affected range
    Compare the identified version number against 5.0.0.1217. Any version equal to or lower than 5.0.0.1217 falls within the vulnerable range
    Affected if Installed version is 5.0.0.1217 or lower, indicating the vulnerable version is present
  4. Verify the vulnerable service component is present
    Check if the Trend Micro Password Manager service or scheduled task exists by looking in Services.msc for 'Trend Micro Password Manager' or in Task Scheduler under Task Scheduler Library\Trend Micro for Password Manager tasks
    Affected if The service or scheduled task is absent, the exploitation pathway may not be available even with a vulnerable version
  5. Audit recent registry modifications (optional hunting)
    Use Windows Event Log or Sysmon to review registry modifications under HKLM\SOFTWARE\TrendMicro\ or other privileged registry locations initiated by the current user's context since Password Manager installation
    Affected if Registry keys under privileged HKLM branches were modified by a non-privileged user account, indicating active exploitation of this vulnerability

A user is affected if Trend Micro Password Manager version 5.0.0.1217 or lower is installed and the application or its service component is present on the system.

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
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 5.0.0.1217
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Trend Micro Password Manager to a version newer than 5.0.0.1217. If immediate patching is not possible, restrict user access to the application and implement monitoring for unauthorized registry modifications.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Latest version available from Trend Micro (version > 5.0.0.1217)

  1. 1. Verify current installed version of Trend Micro Password Manager by accessing the application settings or checking the installed programs list.
  2. 2. Navigate to the official Trend Micro help center (helpcenter.trendmicro.com) to obtain the latest version of Trend Micro Password Manager.
  3. 3. Download and install the most recent version available from Trend Micro's official sources.
  4. 4. After installation, verify the new version number exceeds 5.0.0.1217.
  5. 5. Restart any affected systems and confirm the application functions normally.
Caveat Consumer version patch; minimal risk but verify normal operation after upgrade

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

Fix this in Password Manager Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
12.0 hours of engineering $2,130
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,408.

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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-2021-32462 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