dbcve.org
AgentApplication · Trellix

CVE-2023-0976

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-06-07
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 5.7.9 or later.
See remediation →
81/100
Remediation priority · High
No privileges

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 command Injection Vulnerability in TA for mac-OS prior to version 5.7.9 allows local users to place an arbitrary file into the /Library/Trellix/Agent/bin/ folder. The malicious file is executed by running the TA deployment feature located in the System Tree.

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 command injection vulnerability in Trellix Agent (TA) for macOS versions prior to 5.7.9 allows local authenticated users to place arbitrary files into the /Library/Trellix/Agent/bin/ directory. When the TA deployment feature in System Tree is executed, these malicious files are run with elevated privileges, enabling local privilege escalation.

MitigationUpgrade Trellix Agent for macOS to version 5.7.9 or later to remediate this vulnerability.

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
AgentApplication
Affected:< 5.7.9

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/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 Trellix Agent is installed
    Run: ls -la /Library/Trellix/Agent/ or check /Applications for Trellix Agent
    Affected if The /Library/Trellix/Agent/ directory does not exist, indicating the product is not installed (not affected)
  2. Check installed Trellix Agent version
    Run: /Library/Trellix/Agent/bin/TrellixAgent --version or inspect the version file in /Library/Trellix/Agent/
    Affected if The installed version is less than 5.7.9 (e.g., 5.7.8, 5.7.0, etc.)
  3. Inspect the agent bin directory for unauthorized files
    Run: ls -la /Library/Trellix/Agent/bin/ and review for unexpected or newly created executable files
    Affected if There are unauthorized or suspicious files present in the bin directory that were not placed by the legitimate installation process
  4. Check for System Tree deployment configuration
    Review Trellix Agent configuration files or policy settings for any System Tree deployment tasks or scheduled deployments
    Affected if System Tree deployment feature is enabled or configured on the endpoint
  5. Verify current patch level against vendor advisory
    Compare your installed version to the affected version range (< 5.7.9) using the version check from step 2
    Affected if The installed version is 5.7.8 or lower, placing the environment within the affected version range

If Trellix Agent for macOS is installed with a version lower than 5.7.9 and unauthorized files exist in the bin directory, the environment is vulnerable and could be exploited for local privilege escalation via the System Tree deployment feature.

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 5.7.9 or later
Fixed in 5.7.9
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Trellix Agent for macOS to version 5.7.9 or later to remediate this vulnerability.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Trellix Agent 5.7.9 or later for macOS

  1. 1. Check the current Trellix Agent version by running: /Library/Trellix/Agent/bin/cmdagent -i or checking System Preferences > Trellix > About
  2. 2. Navigate to the official Trellix download portal or internal repository to obtain Trellix Agent version 5.7.9 or later for macOS
  3. 3. Deploy the upgraded Agent package using the Trellix ePO console or local installation (e.g., sudo installer -pkg TrellixAgent-5.7.9.pkg -target /)
  4. 4. After installation, verify the version has been updated by running: /Library/Trellix/Agent/bin/cmdagent -i
  5. 5. Confirm that the /Library/Trellix/Agent/bin/ folder permissions prevent unauthorized writes by standard users

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

Fix this in Agent Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,600
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,560.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-0976 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2023-0976 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