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Apex OneApplication · Trendmicro

CVE-2023-47201

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-01-23
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 14.0.12737 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 plug-in manager origin validation vulnerability in the Trend Micro Apex One security agent 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. This vulnerability is similar to, but not identical to, CVE-2023-47200.

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

This is a local privilege escalation vulnerability in the plug-in manager component of Trend Micro Apex One security agent. The flaw involves improper origin validation, allowing a low-privileged attacker to execute code with elevated (likely SYSTEM) privileges on the affected system.

MitigationApply the vendor-provided security update or patch for Trend Micro Apex One to address this vulnerability. Since this is a local attack requiring prior low-privileged code execution, prioritize patching systems with exposure to untrusted users or code.

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:< 14.0.12737= 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 the presence of Trend Micro Apex One by looking for its installation directory (commonly C:\Program Files\Trend Micro\Apex One) or check Windows Services for 'Apex One' or 'Tm listen' service
    Affected if Apex One is not found on the system, the user is not affected by this CVE
  2. Locate the installed version
    Open the Apex One console and navigate to Help > About, or check the version information in the installation directory (often in a version.ini or similar file), or run 'offcscan.bat' from the installation folder with version flag if available
    Affected if Cannot determine the version - assume potentially affected if Apex One is installed
  3. Compare against affected version range
    Compare your installed version number to the affected ranges: versions earlier than 14.0.12737, or version 2019 (any build)
    Affected if The installed version is < 14.0.12737 OR equals 2019 - the system is likely affected by this vulnerability
  4. Confirm plug-in manager component exists
    Check if the Plug-in Manager component is present in the Apex One installation (typically in a 'PkgServer' or 'Plugin' subdirectory within the Apex One folder)
    Affected if The plug-in manager component is present and the version is in the affected range, exploitation becomes possible for local attackers with low-privileged access

If Trend Micro Apex One is installed with a version earlier than 14.0.12737 or exactly version 2019, and the plug-in manager component is present, the environment is affected by this local privilege escalation vulnerability.

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 14.0.12737 or later
Fixed in 14.0.12737
Interim mitigation

Apply the vendor-provided security update or patch for Trend Micro Apex One to address this vulnerability. Since this is a local attack requiring prior low-privileged code execution, prioritize patching systems with exposure to untrusted users or code.

Recommended fix High confidence

Apex One version 14.0.12737 or later

  1. 1. Ensure you have a backup of your current Apex One configuration and data.
  2. 2. Download the latest Apex One version 14.0.12737 or later from the Trend Micro Download Center at success.trendmicro.com.
  3. 3. If using a managed deployment, push the update through your Apex One server console to all registered Security Agents.
  4. 4. For standalone installations, run the installer on each affected endpoint.
  5. 5. Verify the version by checking Help > About in the Apex One client to confirm version 14.0.12737 or later is installed.
  6. 6. Confirm the Security Agent is communicating properly with the server after the update.
Caveat Review release notes for any changes to plug-in management functionality; standard upgrade risks apply (test in staging if possible)

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

Fix this in Apex One Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,750
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,800.

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-2023-47201 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