dbcve.org
Apex OneApplication · Trendmicro

CVE-2023-52090

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-01-23
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 14.0.12849 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 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 confidence

This is a symbolic link following vulnerability in Trend Micro Apex One's security agent that allows a local attacker with low-privileged code execution to escalate to higher system privileges. The vulnerability likely involves the agent following insecurely created symbolic links during operations, enabling privilege escalation.

MitigationApply the vendor patch from Trend Micro for Apex One when available, and ensure the principle of least privilege is maintained for file system permissions in the agent's directories.

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:< 14.0.12849= 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. Identify installed Apex One version
    Open the Apex One console or check the installed programs list in Windows Control Panel. Alternatively, right-click the Apex One icon in the system tray and select 'About' or check the program's properties to locate the version number.
    Affected if The installed version is lower than 14.0.12849, or the version displays as '2019' (any build).
  2. Verify Apex One security agent is active
    Check if the 'Trend Micro Apex One Security Agent' service or 'TmListen.exe' process is running on the system. Use Task Manager or Services.msc to confirm the agent is loaded.
    Affected if The security agent is running, as the symlink following occurs during agent operations.
  3. Inspect file system permissions on agent directories
    Right-click the Apex One installation folder (commonly in Program Files or Program Files x86), select Properties, then Security tab. Check the permissions for standard users or low-privileged accounts.
    Affected if Standard or low-privileged users have write permissions to agent directories or subfolders, which could allow them to create malicious symbolic links.
  4. Audit for recent symbolic link creation
    Review system event logs for Event ID 4688 (process creation) or use sysmon to identify suspicious symlink creation via 'mklink' commands by non-admin accounts within agent directories.
    Affected if Evidence exists of symbolic links created by low-privilege users in agent directories.

A system is affected if Apex One version is below 14.0.12849 (or is version 2019) AND the security agent is running AND low-privileged users have write access to agent directories where symlinks could be created.

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 14.0.12849 or later
Fixed in 14.0.12849
Interim mitigation

Apply the vendor patch from Trend Micro for Apex One when available, and ensure the principle of least privilege is maintained for file system permissions in the agent's directories.

Recommended fix High confidence

14.0.12849 or later

  1. 1. Identify current Apex One version by checking About or version information in the management console
  2. 2. If version is below 14.0.12849, or if running version 2019, plan for upgrade
  3. 3. Download Apex One version 14.0.12849 or later from the Trend Micro download center or support portal
  4. 4. Create a backup of current configuration and ensure you have a rollback plan
  5. 5. Apply the upgrade following Trend Micro's standard upgrade procedure for Apex One
  6. 6. After upgrade, verify the new version is 14.0.12849 or higher
  7. 7. Confirm the security agent is functioning properly and the vulnerability is remediated

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
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
12.0 hours of engineering $2,120
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,392.

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-2023-52090 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