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Apex OneApplication · Trendmicro

CVE-2023-52091

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
An anti-spyware engine 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

A link following (symbolic link) vulnerability in Trend Micro Apex One's anti-spyware engine allows a local attacker with low-privileged code execution to manipulate the software into following an attacker-controlled symlink, escalating to SYSTEM privileges.

MitigationApply the vendor patch from Trend Micro for Apex One; ensure endpoint protection policies restrict low-privileged users from creating symlinks in sensitive directories used by the anti-spyware engine.

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
    Check the installed version of Trend Micro Apex One in the system (typically via the product's GUI, control panel, or command-line tool provided by the product). Compare the version number to the affected ranges: versions < 14.0.12849 and version 2019.
    Affected if The installed version is less than 14.0.12849, or the version is exactly 2019.
  2. Confirm anti-spyware engine is active
    Determine whether the anti-spyware engine component of Apex One is installed and running on the endpoint. This may be visible in the product's service status or task manager as a Trend Micro process related to anti-spyware.
    Affected if The anti-spyware engine component is present and enabled on the system.
  3. Verify low-privileged user access
    Assess whether standard or low-privileged users (non-administrator accounts) have the ability to create symbolic links in directories used by the Apex One anti-spyware engine. This typically involves checking file system permissions on directories where the engine performs scans or stores temporary files.
    Affected if Low-privileged users can create symlinks in directories accessed by the anti-spyware engine, providing the conditions for the link following attack.

A system is affected if it runs a vulnerable Apex One version (below 14.0.12849 or version 2019) with the anti-spyware engine enabled, and low-privileged users can create symlinks in sensitive directories used by that engine.

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; ensure endpoint protection policies restrict low-privileged users from creating symlinks in sensitive directories used by the anti-spyware engine.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Apex One version 14.0.12849 or later

  1. 1. Identify the current installed version of Trend Micro Apex One on the target system
  2. 2. Navigate to the official Trend Micro download center or support portal
  3. 3. Download the latest version of Apex One (version 14.0.12849 or later)
  4. 4. Review the official release notes for version 14.0.12849 to confirm it contains the fix for CVE-2023-52091
  5. 5. Create a backup of the current Apex One configuration
  6. 6. Execute the installer for version 14.0.12849 or newer
  7. 7. Follow the standard upgrade procedure documented by Trend Micro
  8. 8. Verify the installation completed successfully and the version number matches the expected fixed release
Caveat Review Trend Micro release notes for any changes to functionality, compatibility requirements, or migration procedures before upgrading

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
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
13.0 hours of engineering $2,330
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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-2023-52091 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