dbcve.org
Apex OneApplication · Trendmicro

CVE-2025-71215

HIGH · 7.0 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-05-21
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
72/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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 time-of-check time-of-use vulnerability in the Trend Micro Apex One (mac) agent iCore service signature verification 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. The following information is provided as informational only for CVE references, as these were addressed already via ActiveUpdate/SaaS updates in mid to late 2025 (SaaS 2507 & 2005 Yearly Release).

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 time-of-check time-of-use (TOCTOU) vulnerability exists in the iCore service of the Trend Micro Apex One for macOS agent during signature verification. This race condition allows a local attacker who has already achieved low-privileged code execution to manipulate the window between signature verification and its use, enabling privilege escalation to root or system privileges.

MitigationApply the ActiveUpdate or SaaS updates released in mid to late 2025 (SaaS 2507 and 2005 Yearly Release). Ensure all Apex One macOS agents are updated to versions containing the signature verification fix.

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:all versions

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
High
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/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. Confirm Apex One for Mac agent is installed
    Look for the Apex One for Mac installation directory (typically /Library/Application Support/Trend Micro/Apex One/) or check for the running process 'Apex One for Mac' or 'iCore' in Activity Monitor
    Affected if If the Apex One for Mac agent or its iCore service component is found on the system, proceed to version check. If not present, the system is not running this product.
  2. Identify the installed Apex One for Mac version
    Access the Apex One management console or use the agent's built-in version check command (typically via the GUI: About or Help > About). The version number is displayed as a numeric build (e.g., SaaS 2507 or a Yearly Release like 2005).
    Affected if Version information cannot be determined or shows a build earlier than SaaS 2507 or 2005 Yearly Release.
  3. Verify the iCore service is active
    Check if the iCore service (the component where the TOCTOU vulnerability exists) is running. This can be done via Activity Monitor by searching for 'iCore' or via terminal command listing running processes related to Apex One.
    Affected if If the iCore service is running, the vulnerable code path is active on this endpoint.
  4. Compare installed version against fixed releases
    Compare the identified version from step 2 against the vendor fixed versions: SaaS 2507 or 2005 Yearly Release and later. Any version below these releases contains the vulnerability.
    Affected if If the installed version is earlier than SaaS 2507 or 2005 Yearly Release, the TOCTOU vulnerability in signature verification is present in the iCore service.

If Apex One for Mac agent is installed with a version earlier than SaaS 2507 or 2005 Yearly Release and the iCore service is running, the environment is affected by CVE-2025-71215.

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
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply the ActiveUpdate or SaaS updates released in mid to late 2025 (SaaS 2507 and 2005 Yearly Release). Ensure all Apex One macOS agents are updated to versions containing the signature verification fix.

Recommended fix High confidence

SaaS 2507 or SaaS 2005 Yearly Release (via ActiveUpdate)

  1. Ensure the Apex One agent is updated with the latest ActiveUpdate definitions and components
  2. For SaaS deployments, verify the tenant is on SaaS version 2507 or the 2005 Yearly Release
  3. Verify the iCore service has been restarted after the update to load the patched signature verification components
  4. Confirm the patch has been applied by checking the agent version and update history

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
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,090
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,744.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-71215 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2025-71215 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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