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Apex OneApplication · Trendmicro

CVE-2023-25148

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-03-10
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 14.0.11960 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 link following vulnerability in Trend Micro Apex One could allow a local attacker to exploit the vulnerability by changing a specific file into a pseudo-symlink, allowing privilege escalation 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 confidence

A security agent link following (symlink/pseudo-symlink) vulnerability in Trend Micro Apex One allows a local attacker with low-privileged code execution to manipulate file operations performed by the privileged security agent by changing a specific file into a pseudo-symlink, enabling privilege escalation to SYSTEM/root privileges.

MitigationApply vendor security patches for CVE-2023-25148 when released; in the interim, restrict low-privileged user permissions to prevent modification of files in the security agent's working directories and monitor for suspicious symlink creation.

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:< 14.0.11960= 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
    Locate and inspect the Trend Micro Apex One installation directory, typically found in C:\Program Files\Trend Micro\ or C:\Program Files (x86)\Trend Micro\, and confirm the product folder exists
    Affected if Apex One is not installed on the system
  2. Determine installed version
    Check the product version by reviewing version information in the Apex One installation folder, typically via a version.txt file, registry key under HKLM\SOFTWARE\TrendMicro\Apex One, or the product's About dialog
    Affected if The installed version is lower than 14.0.11960 or matches version 2019
  3. Identify agent working directories
    Examine the security agent's working directories where it performs file operations, commonly located within the Apex One installation path or program data folders
    Affected if Low-privileged users have write permissions to directories used by the security agent for file operations
  4. Check for unauthorized symlinks
    Scan the identified working directories for unexpected symlink or pseudo-symlink files that could be manipulated by a low-privileged attacker
    Affected if Suspicious symlinks or pseudo-symlinks exist in the security agent's working directories
  5. Verify service context
    Confirm the Apex One security agent service runs with elevated SYSTEM or administrator privileges
    Affected if The Apex One service runs with elevated privileges and low-privileged users can modify files in its operation paths

The system is affected if Trend Micro Apex One is installed with a version below 14.0.11960 (or version 2019) AND low-privileged users can modify files in the security agent's working directories.

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 14.0.11960 or later
Fixed in 14.0.11960
Interim mitigation

Apply vendor security patches for CVE-2023-25148 when released; in the interim, restrict low-privileged user permissions to prevent modification of files in the security agent's working directories and monitor for suspicious symlink creation.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to Apex One version 14.0.11960 or later

  1. 1. Identify the current installed version of Trend Micro Apex One by checking the product About or version information.
  2. 2. If the installed version is earlier than 14.0.11960 (or is the 2019 version), plan for an upgrade to version 14.0.11960 or later.
  3. 3. Obtain the upgrade package from the official Trend Micro download portal or your licensed distribution channel.
  4. 4. Before applying the upgrade, ensure you have a complete backup of the Apex One server and database.
  5. 5. Follow Trend Micro's standard upgrade procedure for Apex One, which typically involves stopping the Apex One services, running the upgrade installer, and restarting services.
  6. 6. After upgrade, verify the new version is 14.0.11960 or later and confirm all Apex One services are running properly.
Caveat Review Trend Micro release notes for version 14.0.11960 for any configuration or feature changes that may require adjustment

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
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
22.0 hours of engineering $3,860
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $6,176.

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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-2023-25148 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