EUVD-2025-18529CVSS Vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Lifecycle Timeline
3Description
A link following vulnerability in the Trend Micro Apex One scan engine 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.
Analysis
Privilege escalation vulnerability in Trend Micro Apex One's scan engine that exploits improper link handling to allow local attackers to escalate privileges. The vulnerability affects Trend Micro Apex One installations and requires an attacker to first obtain low-privileged code execution on the target system. While no active exploitation in the wild has been confirmed at this time, the CVSS score of 7.0 indicates a high-severity local privilege escalation risk for organizations running vulnerable versions.
Technical Context
This vulnerability exists in Trend Micro Apex One's scan engine and is classified as a link following vulnerability (CWE-269: Improper Access Control - Generic). CWE-269 indicates that the vulnerability stems from inadequate access control mechanisms that fail to properly restrict operations or resources. In this context, the scan engine likely follows symbolic links or hard links without proper validation of the target's ownership, permissions, or path integrity, allowing an unprivileged user to redirect file operations to sensitive system resources or files owned by the scanner process (typically running with higher privileges). The attack leverages the trust relationship between the scan engine and file system operations, where the engine's higher privilege level is exploited through improper link dereferencing.
Affected Products
Trend Micro Apex One (specific versions not provided in source data; organization should consult Trend Micro's official security advisory for exact version ranges). CPE information for affected products would typically follow the pattern: cpe:2.3:a:trendmicro:apex_one:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* (versions TBD). Affected configurations include standard Trend Micro Apex One deployments where the scan engine operates with elevated privileges to perform system-wide threat scanning.
Remediation
1. Contact Trend Micro directly or review their official security advisory for CVE-2025-49156 to obtain the specific patched version. 2. Apply the vendor-provided patch to all Trend Micro Apex One installations as soon as possible. 3. Until patching is possible, implement compensating controls: (a) Restrict local user account creation and low-privileged account access on systems running Apex One; (b) Use file system monitoring to detect suspicious symbolic link creation in scan engine working directories; (c) Implement application whitelisting to restrict code execution from untrusted sources, reducing initial code execution risk. 4. Disable or isolate Apex One instances in high-risk environments until patches are deployed. 5. Monitor Trend Micro's security portal for updated CVE documentation, patch availability, and any indicators of active exploitation.
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External POC / Exploit Code
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