CVE-2022-40710
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 · uneditedA link following vulnerability in Trend Micro Deep Security 20 and Cloud One - Workload Security Agent for Windows could allow a local attacker to escalate privileges on affected installations. 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 confidenceA link following (symlink) vulnerability in Trend Micro Deep Security 20 and Cloud One - Workload Security Agent for Windows allows a local attacker with low-privileged code execution to escalate to higher privileges by exploiting improper validation of symbolic links during file operations.
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= 20.0CVSS 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.
-
Confirm Deep Security Agent is installedOpen Windows Registry and check for the presence of the agent at HKLM\SOFTWARE\TrendMicro\Deep Security or look for the ds_agent service via 'sc query ds_agent' in Command PromptAffected if The Deep Security Agent or Cloud One Workload Security Agent is present on the system
-
Check installed agent versionRun 'C:\Program Files\Trend Micro\Deep Security Agent\ds_agent.exe -v' or check the version in Add/Remove Programs, or via Registry at HKLM\SOFTWARE\TrendMicro\Deep Security\CurrentVersionAffected if The version is exactly 20.0 (the only affected version listed)
-
Verify low-privileged user can create symlinksCheck file system permissions on agent directories (typically C:\Program Files\Trend Micro\Deep Security\) using 'icacls' command. Verify if non-admin users have write/create permissions to subdirectoriesAffected if Low-privileged users have write access to agent directories allowing symlink creation
-
Audit for suspicious symlinksUse 'fsutil behavior set SymlinkEvaluation L2L:1' if not already enabled, then scan agent directories for symbolic links using 'dir /AL /S C:\Program Files\Trend Micro\Deep Security'Affected if Any unexpected symbolic links exist within the Deep Security agent directory tree
A system is affected only if Deep Security Agent version 20.0 is installed AND low-privileged users have the ability to create symbolic links in agent directories.
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 vendor-supplied patches for Deep Security 20 and Cloud One - Workload Security Agent. Prioritize patching systems with local user access. Review file and directory permissions on sensitive agent directories to limit symlink creation opportunities.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,800.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-40710 — 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-2022-40710 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
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.
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.
- 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