CVE-2021-32464
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 incorrect permission assignment privilege escalation vulnerability in Trend Micro Apex One, Apex One as a Service and Worry-Free Business Security Services could allow an attacker to modify a specific script before it is executed. Please note: an attacker must first obtain the ability to execute low-privileged code on the target system in order 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 confidenceThis is a local privilege escalation vulnerability in Trend Micro endpoint security products caused by incorrect file permissions on a specific script. A low-privileged attacker who can execute code on the target system can modify this script before it is executed with elevated privileges, achieving privilege escalation.
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= 2019= xgCVSS 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
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify installed Trend Micro product and versionOpen Programs and Features or use command line (wmic product get name,version) to list installed Trend Micro endpoint security products. Check if Apex One 2019 or Officescan XG is installed.Affected if The installed product is Trend Micro Apex One version 2019 or Trend Micro Officescan version XG.
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Locate the vulnerable scriptConsult the vendor advisory for this CVE to identify the specific script name and full path. This script is used by the security product and is executed with elevated privileges.Affected if The specific script identified in the vendor advisory exists on the system.
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Verify file permissions on the scriptRight-click the script file, go to Properties > Security tab, or use 'icacls <script_path>' command. Check which users and groups have Write or Modify permissions on the file.Affected if Non-administrator users or low-privileged accounts have Write or Modify permissions on the script.
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Test if low-privileged user can modify the scriptUsing a low-privileged account (or Runas), attempt to open and modify the script file with a text editor, then save changes.Affected if A low-privileged user can successfully modify the script content.
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Check if script is executable by privileged serviceReview the product service configuration (services.msc) to confirm the Trend Micro security service runs under an elevated account (such as LocalSystem) and executes this script.Affected if The product service runs with elevated privileges and executes the vulnerable script.
A system is affected if a Trend Micro endpoint security product (Apex One 2019 or Officescan XG) is installed and a low-privileged user can modify the script that gets executed with elevated privileges.
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 correct restrictive permissions to the vulnerable script (identified in vendor advisories) and apply vendor-supplied patches for Apex One, Apex One as a Service, and Worry-Free Business Security Services.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-32464 — 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-2021-32464 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
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