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Apex OneApplication · Trendmicro

CVE-2024-55632

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
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 link following (symlink) vulnerability in Trend Micro Apex One security agent that allows a local attacker with low-privileged code execution to escalate to higher privileges. The vulnerability likely involves the security agent improperly following symbolic links that can be manipulated by an attacker to access or modify protected resources.

MitigationApply the vendor patch when available. In the interim, restrict local code execution capabilities and monitor for unauthorized manipulation of symbolic links in directories accessed by the Apex One agent.

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 program version via the agent's About/Version dialog. Alternatively, query the registry (HKLM\SOFTWARE\TrendMicro\Apex One) or check the version displayed in Windows Programs and Features.
    Affected if The installed version is below 14.0.14203 or below 2019.13140 (depending on the version branch).
  2. Locate Apex One working directories
    Identify directories where the Apex One agent writes, reads, or monitors files. Check the service configuration, installation default paths (commonly C:\Program Files\Trend Micro\Apex One\ or C:\Program Files (x86)\Trend Micro\Apex One\), and any custom scan target paths configured in the policy.
    Affected if The agent operates on directories where low-privileged users can create or modify symbolic links.
  3. Enumerate symbolic links in Apex One directories
    Use 'dir /AL /S <ApexOneDirectory>' in Command Prompt or Get-ChildItem -Recurse -Directory -Filter * | Where-Object { $_.Attributes -match 'ReparsePoint' } in PowerShell to list all symbolic links, junction points, and reparse points within the Apex One installation and working directories.
    Affected if Symbolic links exist in directories accessed by the Apex One agent that point to sensitive system locations or protected resources.
  4. Verify permissions on Apex One directories
    Right-click the Apex One directories, go to Properties > Security, or run 'icacls <directory>' from an elevated command prompt to review which users have Write or Create permissions on directories used by the agent.
    Affected if Low-privileged users have Write or Create permissions on directories that the Apex One agent follows symlinks within.
  5. Review Apex One audit and event logs
    Open the Apex One console logs, Windows Event Viewer (Application and System logs), or any dedicated Apex One log files in the installation directory for entries indicating symlink traversal, access denied errors, or unexpected file operations.
    Affected if Logs contain entries showing the agent followed a symbolic link to an unintended location, or anomalies related to symlink manipulation.

You are affected if the installed Apex One version is below 14.0.14203 (or below 2019.13140) AND low-privileged users can create or manipulate symbolic links in directories that the Apex One agent accesses or monitors.

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 the vendor patch when available. In the interim, restrict local code execution capabilities and monitor for unauthorized manipulation of symbolic links in directories accessed by the Apex One agent.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Apex One version 14.0.14203 or later; Apex One 2019 version 13140 or later

  1. 1. Back up the current Apex One configuration and any custom policies.
  2. 2. Review the Apex One release notes for version 14.0.14203 (or 2019.13140) to understand new features and changes.
  3. 3. Download the fixed version of Apex One from the Trend Micro Download Center or your licensed portal.
  4. 4. Test the upgrade in a non-production environment first to verify compatibility with your existing systems and integrations.
  5. 5. Apply the upgrade to production systems following standard change management procedures.
  6. 6. After upgrading, verify that the Apex One agent is running correctly and that the privilege escalation vulnerability is resolved.
Caveat Review release notes for changes to agent features, policy configurations, or system requirements that may affect existing deployments

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

Fix this in Apex One Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,120
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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-2024-55632 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