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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 21 Apr 2022.
Apex CentralApplication · Trendmicro

CVE-2022-26871

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-03-29
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
An arbitrary file upload vulnerability in Trend Micro Apex Central could allow an unauthenticated remote attacker to upload an arbitrary file which could lead to remote code execution.

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 critical arbitrary file upload vulnerability in Trend Micro Apex Central allows unauthenticated remote attackers to upload arbitrary files to the server. Successful exploitation enables remote code execution by uploading malicious executable files.

MitigationApply vendor patches immediately when available. Until patch is applied, consider network segmentation and blocking unauthorized access to the affected Apex Central interface. Implement strict file type validation and authentication requirements for upload functionality.

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 CentralApplication
Affected:= 2019
Apex OneApplication
Affected:all versions

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 if Apex Central is installed
    Check for the Apex Central installation by looking for the product in Windows Registry at HKLM\SOFTWARE\TrendMicro\ApexCentral, or check for the service 'Trend Micro Apex Central' in services.msc, or look for installation directory at C:\Program Files\Trend Micro\Apex Central
    Affected if The product is found installed on the system
  2. Determine Apex Central version
    Check the version by looking at the file version of CentralControl.exe in the installation directory, or check the Windows Registry value at HKLM\SOFTWARE\TrendMicro\ApexCentral\Version
    Affected if Version equals 2019 (exact version check required)
  3. Identify if Apex One is installed
    Check for Apex One by looking for services named 'Trend Micro Apex One' in services.msc, or check for installation at C:\Program Files\Trend Micro\Apex One, or check Windows Registry at HKLM\SOFTWARE\TrendMicro\ApexOne
    Affected if Apex One is found installed on the system (all versions affected)
  4. Check if management interface is network-accessible
    Verify if the Apex Central/Apex One web console ports (typically 443, 8443, or configured ports) are exposed to untrusted networks by reviewing firewall rules or performing a port scan from an external perspective
    Affected if The management web interface is accessible from untrusted networks without VPN or proper network segmentation
  5. Look for suspicious files in web directories
    Search web application directories (typically under the installation folder in WebUI or similar subdirectories) for newly created .asp, .aspx, .jsp, .php, or executable files with random names, especially in writable upload directories
    Affected if Unexpected script or executable files are found that were not intentionally deployed

The system is affected if Apex Central version 2019 or Apex One of any version is installed, and the management interface is network-accessible to unauthenticated attackers.

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 vendor patches immediately when available. Until patch is applied, consider network segmentation and blocking unauthorized access to the affected Apex Central interface. Implement strict file type validation and authentication requirements for upload functionality.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Apex Central 2019 with Security Patch (build 6709 or later) OR upgrade to Apex Central 2022; Apex One to latest version with latest Security Patch

  1. 1. Identify the current installed version of Trend Micro Apex Central or Apex One by checking the product console or system information.
  2. 2. Navigate to the Trend Micro Download Center or the official support portal at success.trendmicro.com to obtain the latest security patch or hotfix.
  3. 3. Download the security update corresponding to CVE-2022-26871 - this is typically released as a Critical Patch or Security Patch.
  4. 4. Back up the current installation and database before applying any updates.
  5. 5. Apply the security patch following the installation instructions provided in the patch release notes.
  6. 6. Verify the patch has been applied successfully by checking the product version and confirming the vulnerability is remediated.
  7. 7. Alternatively, upgrade to the latest major version of Apex Central (2022 or later) which includes this security fix.
Caveat Review release notes for any configuration changes required after applying the security patch; test in staging environment before production deployment

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

Fix this in Apex Central Exploited in the wild — priority engagement
  • Consultation6.0 h
  • Implementation16.0 h
  • Testing12.0 h
  • Review / QA6.0 h
40.0 hours of engineering $6,960
Get it fixed fast

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $11,136.

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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-2022-26871 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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.

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