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Apex OneApplication · Trendmicro

CVE-2025-49158

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-06-17
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 14.0.0.14002 / 14.0.14492 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 uncontrolled search path vulnerability in the Trend Micro Apex One security agent could allow a local attacker to escalation 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

An uncontrolled search path vulnerability in the Trend Micro Apex One security agent allows a local attacker with existing low-privileged code execution to escalate to SYSTEM privileges. The vulnerability likely involves improper path handling that enables DLL hijacking or similar binary planting attacks.

MitigationApply the vendor-provided patch for CVE-2025-49158 when available. In the interim, restrict write access to directories in the agent's executable search path to prevent attacker-controlled DLL placement.

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:< 14.0.14492>= 14.0.0.12994, < 14.0.0.14002

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 Apex One agent installation path
    Check the Windows registry key HKLM\SOFTWARE\TrendMicro\Apex One\Installation or look in common installation directories like C:\Program Files\Trend Micro\Apex One
    Affected if Apex One agent is not installed in the expected secure location or path is writable by low-privileged users
  2. Determine installed Apex One version
    Run the command 'C:\Program Files\Trend Micro\Apex One\ofcscan.ini' or check registry key HKLM\SOFTWARE\TrendMicro\Apex One\CurrentVersion for the Build number value
    Affected if The version displayed is less than 14.0.14492, or falls between 14.0.0.12994 and 14.0.0.14001 inclusive
  3. Verify executable search path permissions
    For the Apex One installation directory and its subdirectories, check file system permissions using icacls or the Security tab in folder properties. Look for directories where non-admin users have Write or Modify permissions
    Affected if Low-privileged users can write to any directory in the agent's executable search path, enabling DLL hijacking
  4. Check for vulnerable DLL loading behavior
    Monitor process creation of Apex One components (such as the TmListen.exe, DServe.exe, or other exe files in the Apex One folder) using Process Monitor from Sysinternals, filtering for DLL load operations with unexpected paths
    Affected if The agent loads DLLs from directories writable by non-admin users or without proper path validation

A system is affected if the installed Apex One version falls below 14.0.14492 (or is between 14.0.0.12994 and 14.0.0.14001) AND low-privileged users can write to directories in the agent's executable search path.

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 14.0.0.14002 / 14.0.14492 or later
Fixed in 14.0.0.1400214.0.14492
Interim mitigation

Apply the vendor-provided patch for CVE-2025-49158 when available. In the interim, restrict write access to directories in the agent's executable search path to prevent attacker-controlled DLL placement.

Recommended fix High confidence

Apex One agent version 14.0.14492 or later (or 14.0.0.14002 or later for the 14.0.0.x branch)

  1. 1. Verify current Apex One agent version by checking the installed software or using the Apex One console
  2. 2. Download the latest Apex One security agent installer from the Trend Micro Download Center (https://downloadcenter.trendmicro.com/)
  3. 3. If using centralized management, push the updated agent to all affected endpoints via the Apex One server console
  4. 4. For standalone installations, run the updated installer on each affected system
  5. 5. Verify the agent has updated to version 14.0.14492 or higher post-installation
  6. 6. Confirm the service runs under the correct privileged account and that DLL loading is now secure
Caveat Standard agent update—ensure compatibility with your Apex One server version before pushing client updates; 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 / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,930
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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-2025-49158 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