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Apex OneApplication · Trendmicro

CVE-2024-55631

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-12-31
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 14.0.14203 / 2019.13140 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 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 (symlink/junction) vulnerability in Trend Micro Apex One's scanning engine allows a local attacker with low-privileged code execution to escalate to SYSTEM privileges by manipulating the engine to follow symbolic links or junction points to sensitive system locations or protected files.

MitigationApply vendor patch immediately; until available, restrict low-privileged users' ability to create symlinks/junctions and monitor Apex One service activity for anomalous file access patterns.

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:< 14.0.14203< 2019.13140

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 program version via Control Panel > Programs and Features, or run: 'C:\Program Files\Trend Micro\Apex One\ofcscan.ini' (check the 'CurrentVersion' field)
    Affected if Version is below 14.0.14203 or below 2019.13140 (note: both version schemes are used, check both)
  2. Verify scanning engine service is active
    Open Services.msc and check if the 'Trend Micro Apex One Security Agent' or 'Apex One' service is running, or run: sc query 'Apex One'
    Affected if Scanning engine service is running (vulnerability only applies when the engine is active)
  3. Check low-privileged user permissions for symlink creation
    Run 'icacls C:\Users\*' or review NTFS permissions on user-writable directories (Temp, Downloads) to see if standard users can create symbolic links or junction points
    Affected if Low-privileged users have permission to create symlinks/junctions in accessible directories (this enables the attack path)
  4. Inspect scanning directories for suspicious symlinks/junctions
    Check directories that Apex One scans by default: %TEMP%, %USERPROFILE%\Downloads, and any custom scan paths. Run 'dir /AL /S C:\' to list all symbolic links and junction points on the system
    Affected if Unexpected symbolic links or junction points exist pointing to systemprotected locations (e.g., Windows\System32, SAM hive locations)
  5. Review Apex One service logs for anomalous file access
    Check Apex One logs in: C:\Program Files\Trend Micro\Apex One\OfficeScan\PCCSRV\Log or via the Apex One console log viewer for unusual file access patterns targeting system directories
    Affected if Logs show scanning engine accessed files via symlinks/junctions to protected system locations outside normal scan behavior

Apex One is affected if the installed version is below 14.0.14203 (or 2019.13140) AND the scanning engine is active, combined with low-privileged users having symlink/junction creation capabilities.

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 14.0.14203 / 2019.13140 or later
Fixed in 14.0.142032019.13140
Interim mitigation

Apply vendor patch immediately; until available, restrict low-privileged users' ability to create symlinks/junctions and monitor Apex One service activity for anomalous file access patterns.

Recommended fix High confidence

14.0.14203 (14.x branch) or 2019.13140 (2019 branch) - upgrade to the fixed version or later

  1. 1. Identify current Apex One version by checking About or version information in the management console
  2. 2. For the 14.x release track: upgrade to version 14.0.14203 or later
  3. 3. For the 2019 release track: upgrade to version 2019.13140 or later
  4. 4. Download the appropriate update from the Trend Micro Download Center or through your licensed distribution channel
  5. 5. Apply the upgrade following Trend Micro's standard upgrade procedure (back up configuration, stop services, run installer, verify installation)
  6. 6. After upgrade, verify the version and ensure services start successfully
  7. 7. Confirm the privilege escalation vulnerability is remediated by verifying the engine component is updated

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
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,720
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,752.

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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-2024-55631 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