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Apex OneApplication · Trendmicro

CVE-2022-44653

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-12-12
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 14.0.11789 or later.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
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
A security agent directory traversal vulnerability in Trend Micro Apex One and Apex One as a Service 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 · high confidence

A directory traversal vulnerability in Trend Micro Apex One's security agent allows a local attacker with existing low-privileged code execution to traverse directories and access sensitive files outside the intended boundaries, potentially leading to privilege escalation to SYSTEM level.

MitigationApply the vendor security patch for CVE-2022-44653 from Trend Micro to all affected Apex One installations; ensure thorough testing in a staging environment before production deployment due to the security agent's critical role.

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:< 14.0.11789= 2019

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
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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Verify Apex One installation
    Check for Trend Micro Apex One installation by looking in Program Files or Program Files (x86) for a 'Trend Micro' folder, or query the Windows registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall for an entry containing 'Apex One'
    Affected if No Apex One installation is found - the system is not affected by this specific vulnerability
  2. Retrieve installed Apex One version
    Open the Windows Registry Editor and navigate to HKLM\SOFTWARE\TrendMicro\Apex One\CurrentVersion, or check the version information of the main Apex One executable typically located in the Trend Micro program directory
    Affected if The version number retrieved is lower than 14.0.11789, or the version shows 2019 (any build), indicating the installed version is vulnerable
  3. Identify security agent component
    Check for the running Trend Micro Security Agent service using 'services.msc' or the command 'sc query' to list services containing 'Trend' or 'Apex', or inspect running processes for tmccsvc.exe, tmlisten.exe, or similar Trend Micro security agent processes
    Affected if The security agent service or processes are found running - the vulnerable component is active on the system
  4. Confirm patch status
    Query the Windows Registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\TrendMicro\Apex One\PatchLevel or check the installed updates via 'wmic qfe list' for any recent Trend Micro security patches applied after the November 2022 release
    Affected if No recent security patch for CVE-2022-44653 is installed or the patch level cannot be verified, indicating the system remains vulnerable

The system is affected if Trend Micro Apex One is installed with a version lower than 14.0.11789 (or version 2019) and the security agent component is actively running, as the directory traversal flaw exists in that specific component.

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 14.0.11789 or later
Fixed in 14.0.11789
Interim mitigation

Apply the vendor security patch for CVE-2022-44653 from Trend Micro to all affected Apex One installations; ensure thorough testing in a staging environment before production deployment due to the security agent's critical role.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

14.0.11789 or later

  1. Verify current Apex One agent version by checking the installed software or using the Apex One management console
  2. Download Apex One version 14.0.11789 or later from the Trend Micro Download Center or your licensed portal
  3. Schedule a maintenance window to apply the update to minimize business impact
  4. Deploy the update through the Apex One management server to all affected agents
  5. Verify successful deployment by checking the agent version in the console
  6. Confirm the vulnerability is remediated by verifying the agent version is now 14.0.11789 or higher

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

Fix this in Apex One Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
16.0 hours of engineering $2,840
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,544.

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-2022-44653 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