dbcve.org
Apex OneApplication · Trendmicro

CVE-2025-71216

HIGH · 7.8 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 →
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 time-of-check time-of-use vulnerability in the Trend Micro Apex One (mac) agent cache mechanism 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 Trend Micro Apex One macOS agent cache mechanism. This race condition allows a local attacker who has already obtained low-privileged code execution to manipulate the timing between a security check and the use of cached data, enabling local privilege escalation to higher privileges on affected installations.

MitigationEnsure the Trend Micro Apex One macOS agent is updated to the latest version via ActiveUpdate or the SaaS updates (SaaS 2507 or 2005 Yearly Release and later) to incorporate the patched cache mechanism.

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
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. Verify Apex One macOS agent is installed
    Check for the presence of the Apex One agent by searching for its processes or installed components. Common locations include /Applications/Trend Micro/ or check running processes for 'Apex One' or 'Trend' related daemons.
    Affected if The Apex One macOS agent is found running on the system
  2. Identify the installed Apex One version
    Run the following command in Terminal to check the installed version: defaults read /Applications/ApexOneAgent.app/Contents/Info CFBundleVersion 2>/dev/null || pkgutil --pkg-info=com.trendmicro.apex.one 2>/dev/null | grep version
    Affected if The command returns a version number or shows the agent is installed but the version cannot be determined or is below 2507
  3. Compare version against fixed release
    If a version number is obtained from the previous step, compare it to version 2507 (or SaaS 2005 Yearly Release). Versions below these are affected by the vulnerability.
    Affected if The installed version is below 2507 (standalone) or below SaaS 2005 Yearly Release (SaaS)
  4. Check management console for version info
    Access the Apex One management console and navigate to the agent status or version information page to confirm the deployed agent version across managed endpoints.
    Affected if The console shows agents running versions prior to the fixed release

A system is affected if the Trend Micro Apex One macOS agent is installed and the running version is below 2507 (or SaaS 2005 Yearly Release), enabling the TOCTOU cache manipulation for local privilege escalation.

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

Ensure the Trend Micro Apex One macOS agent is updated to the latest version via ActiveUpdate or the SaaS updates (SaaS 2507 or 2005 Yearly Release and later) to incorporate the patched cache mechanism.

Recommended fix High confidence

Apex One SaaS 2507 or 2005 Yearly Release (or later)

  1. 1. Confirm the Apex One agent is configured to receive automatic updates from ActiveUpdate
  2. 2. Ensure the Apex One management console is connected to receive SaaS updates
  3. 3. Verify the agent has successfully updated to version 2507 (mid-2025) or 2005 Yearly Release (late-2025) or later
  4. 4. If automatic updates are not enabled, manually trigger an update through the Apex One console or agent interface
  5. 5. Confirm the patch level includes the CVE-2025-71216 fix in the agent cache mechanism

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
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
5.0 hours of engineering $880
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,408.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-71216 — 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-2025-71216 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