dbcve.org
Apex OneApplication · Trendmicro

CVE-2026-34928

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-05-21
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 14.0.0.17079 / 14.0.20731 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 origin validation vulnerability in the Apex One/SEP agent could allow a local attacker to escalate privileges on affected installations. This is similar to CVE-2026-34927 but exists in a different named pipe communication mechanism. 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 local privilege escalation vulnerability in Trend Micro Apex One/Symantec Endpoint Protection (SEP) agents. The flaw exists in a named pipe communication mechanism where the software fails to properly validate the origin of requests, allowing a low-privileged attacker who can execute code on the system to inject commands into the privileged pipe communication and elevate to SYSTEM-level privileges.

MitigationApply the vendor security patch or update for Apex One/SEP agent as soon as possible. Until patches are available, restrict local user permissions and monitor for suspicious named pipe activity.

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:< 14.0.0.17079< 14.0.20731

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 Trend Micro Apex One installation
    Check for Apex One agent by looking for its service or process. On Windows, open Services.msc and look for 'Trend Micro Apex One' or check Program Files for Trend Micro Apex One directory. Alternatively, run 'tasklist /FI "IMAGENAME eq TmListen.exe"' or similar Apex One processes.
    Affected if Trend Micro Apex One is installed and running on the system
  2. Determine installed Apex One version
    Locate the version information. Common paths include the installation directory (often C:\Program Files\Trend Micro\Apex One\) or check the service properties. You can also check the registry key HKLM\SOFTWARE\TrendMicro\Apex One\CurrentVersion or look for version info in the main executable.
    Affected if The installed version is lower than 14.0.0.17079 OR lower than 14.0.20731 (compare your version against both thresholds)
  3. Verify the named pipe service component is active
    Check if the Apex One protection service is running. Open Services.msc and confirm the 'Apex One' or 'Trend Micro Apex One Security Agent' service is in a Running state. Also verify TmListen.exe or other Apex One processes are active.
    Affected if The Apex One agent service is running and the named pipe communication mechanism is active
  4. Check current user privileges relative to Apex One
    Run 'whoami /groups' to see your current user group memberships. Then check if your user account has limited privileges (not Administrator) while the Apex One service runs under a higher-privileged account.
    Affected if A lower-privileged local user account exists alongside the running Apex One service running under SYSTEM or Administrator privileges

You are affected if Trend Micro Apex One is installed with a version below 14.0.0.17079 (or below 14.0.20731 depending on your build) AND the agent service is running, allowing a low-privileged user with code execution to potentially escalate via the named pipe.

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 14.0.0.17079 / 14.0.20731 or later
Fixed in 14.0.0.1707914.0.20731
Interim mitigation

Apply the vendor security patch or update for Apex One/SEP agent as soon as possible. Until patches are available, restrict local user permissions and monitor for suspicious named pipe activity.

Recommended fix High confidence

Apex One 14.0.0.17079 or later (or 14.0.20731 or later for the 14.0.x branch)

  1. 1. Navigate to the Trend Micro Business Support portal (success.trendmicro.com) or the official Trend Micro download center
  2. 2. Locate and download Apex One version 14.0.0.17079 or later (or version 14.0.20731 or later depending on your version branch)
  3. 3. Before upgrading, create a backup of your current Apex One configuration and database
  4. 4. Stop the Apex One services on the server
  5. 5. Run the installer for the fixed version
  6. 6. Follow the on-screen prompts to complete the upgrade
  7. 7. After installation, start the Apex One services
  8. 8. Verify the version by checking Help > About in the Apex One console

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.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-34928 — 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-2026-34928 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