Trend Micro Apex One and Worry-Free Business Security: code execution flaw under attack

What is affected

Trend Micro Apex One and Worry-Free Business Security is mostly run by companies, schools and public bodies, not on home computers. You are unlikely to have it yourself, but organisations that hold your data may. Breaches that start with flaws like this one are how personal data ends up leaked.

Trend Micro Apex One and Worry-Free Business Security contain an unspecified vulnerability in the third-party anti-virus uninstaller that could allow an attacker to manipulate the module to conduct remote code execution. An attacker must first obtain administrative console access on the target system in order to exploit this vulnerability.

What an attacker can do

This is a code execution flaw. It lets an attacker run their own commands or programs on the affected system. In practice that usually means taking it over: installing malware, stealing data or using it to reach other devices on the same network.

How it is reached

Over the internet or network

Access the attacker needs

An administrator account

Does the victim have to do something?

No, works without the victim doing anything

What to do

1. At home: nothing to install. Keep your own devices updated and use a different password for every service, so that a breach at one organisation does not open your other accounts.
2. If you administer Trend Micro Apex One and Worry-Free Business Security at work: apply the vendor's fix or mitigation now and review logs for signs of compromise, because the flaw was being exploited before it was listed.
3. If the product is past its support date and no fix exists, take it off the internet or retire it.

Apply mitigations per vendor instructions or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.

Vendor advisories and fixes

• success.trendmicro.comsuccess.trendmicro.com/dcx/s/solution/000294994?language=en_US

How urgent is it

CISA added this vulnerability to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalogue on September 21, 2023, which means there is reliable evidence of attacks in the wild. US federal agencies must fix it by October 12, 2023, a deadline that has already passed. That deadline does not bind anyone else, but it shows how seriously the agency rates it.

The EPSS model estimates a 4.3% probability that this flaw will be exploited somewhere in the next 30 days. That is higher than 91% of all scored vulnerabilities.

Its CVSS severity score is 7.2 out of 10 (high), as recorded in the US National Vulnerability Database.

Technical description

A vulnerability in the 3rd party AV uninstaller module contained in Trend Micro Apex One (on-prem and SaaS), Worry-Free Business Security and Worry-Free Business Security Services could allow an attacker to manipulate the module to execute arbitrary commands on an affected installation. Note that an attacker must first obtain administrative console access on the target system in order to exploit this vulnerability.