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Full vulnerability report · 2022
CVE-2022-26871High confidence

Trend Micro Apex Central Arbitrary File Upload Vulnerability

Trend Micro · Apex Central

9.8CriticalCVSS 3.1
Recommended action
Patch now

CISA confirms exploitation in the wild and lists 2022-04-21 as the remediation due date.

Patch available
R
Operational reassessment

Published severity in operational context

Open reassessment dashboard →
Published severityCriticalOperational priority:Critical, unchanged from published severity.unchanged

Evidence used

  • CISA confirms exploitation in the wild.
  • The selected CVSS metric records a network-reachable, unauthenticated path with no user interaction.
  • EPSS is 19.48% for the current model date.

Compensating controls

  • Validate the affected product branch and deploy the verified fixed release.
  • Restrict the affected network interface to trusted sources where business-safe.
  • Increase monitoring for the attack path and post-exploitation behaviour described in the report.

Verification

  1. Confirm that the asset runs Trend Micro Apex Central and falls inside the recorded affected range.
  2. Verify the installed build against the product-specific fixed version after deployment.
  3. Validate exposure, authentication requirements and compensating controls in the actual environment.
  4. Reopen this reassessment when CVSS, KEV, EPSS, exploit evidence or remediation changes.
Mitigation target: Within 3 daysRemediation target: Within 90 days

This automated reassessment organises public evidence. It does not know asset exposure, business impact or control effectiveness and does not replace CVSS or a human risk decision.

Optional official sources

National CERT insights
?CERT means Computer Emergency Response Team; CSIRT is the closely related term Computer Security Incident Response Team.

Choose official national sources for this report. Each advisory shows its original language. Your selection is remembered on this device and included in shared links.

Official European source

ENISA European Vulnerability Database

Official EUVD identifiers, advisory evidence and known-exploited context. Missing fields are not treated as evidence of low risk.

1 current
ENISA EUVD identifier

EUVD-2022-31420

CISA KEV mirrored by ENISA

An arbitrary file upload vulnerability in Trend Micro Apex Central could allow an unauthenticated remote attacker to upload an arbitrary file which could lead to remote code execution.

EUVD state
Present in the current official mapping
Known exploitation
Recorded by ENISA since 31 Mar 2022. Evidence sources: cisa_kev.
ENISA score
9.8 · CVSS 3.1
Advisory evidence
No linked advisory details stored yet
Recommended actionPatch now

CISA confirms exploitation in the wild and lists 2022-04-21 as the remediation due date.

Patch available
01

What, why and how

An arbitrary file upload vulnerability in Trend Micro Apex Central could allow for remote code execution.

What

An arbitrary file upload vulnerability in Trend Micro Apex Central could allow for remote code execution.

Why

The product does not sufficiently verify the origin or authenticity of data, in a way that causes it to accept invalid data.

How

An attacker operating through a network path may attempt exploitation without authentication or user interaction. If successful, the issue may execute code or commands in the affected security context.

What

An arbitrary file upload vulnerability in Trend Micro Apex Central could allow for remote code execution.

Why

The product does not sufficiently verify the origin or authenticity of data, in a way that causes it to accept invalid data.

How

An attacker operating through a network path may attempt exploitation without authentication or user interaction. If successful, the issue may execute code or commands in the affected security context.

02

Exploit reality and attack path

CVSS severity, EPSS forecast probability, public exploit material and CISA-confirmed exploitation are separate signals.

Observed exploitation
?Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.
Confirmed in the wild

CISA added this CVE to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalogue on 2022-03-31.

Public PoC / exploit material
?Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.
None recorded

No exploit-tagged reference or CISA SSVC proof-of-concept state is currently recorded. Research may still exist outside the structured feeds.

Likely attack path
a network path → Insufficient Verification of Data Authenticity → execute code or commands in the affected security context
Attack surface
Network
Privileges required
None: unauthenticated exploitation is possible
User interaction
None
Attack complexity
Low: no specialised conditions are recorded
Security boundary
Unchanged: impact remains within the vulnerable component's security authority
Weakness
?CWE means Common Weakness Enumeration: a standard category for the underlying weakness.
CWE-345 ↗

CWE-345: Insufficient Verification of Data Authenticity. The product does not sufficiently verify the origin or authenticity of data, in a way that causes it to accept invalid data.

CVSS vector
?CVSS means Common Vulnerability Scoring System. The vector records the metric values used to calculate technical severity.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Common Vulnerability Scoring System 3.1: the compact vector below is decoded into plain language.

AVNetworkAttack vector: The vulnerable component can be reached over a network.ACLowAttack complexity: No specialised conditions are required beyond attacker-controlled input.PRNonePrivileges required: The attacker does not need an account or existing privileges.UINoneUser interaction: No action by another user is required.SUnchangedScope: The security impact remains within the vulnerable component's authority.CHighConfidentiality impact: A successful attack can cause a major loss.IHighIntegrity impact: A successful attack can cause a major loss.AHighAvailability impact: A successful attack can cause a major loss.
Post-exploitation / living off the land
After compromise, an attacker may use built-in shells, scripting engines, scheduled tasks and native network utilities for discovery, persistence or movement. This is a plausible LoTL path, not evidence that it has occurred for every attack.
NetworkUnauthenticatedRemote code executionCWE-345CISA KEV
A

Official authority intelligence

Only matched European and national findings are included. Language selectors and unavailable sources are omitted.

ENISA EUVD · EUVD-2022-31420Known-exploited evidence recorded

An arbitrary file upload vulnerability in Trend Micro Apex Central could allow an unauthenticated remote attacker to upload an arbitrary file which could lead to remote code execution.

Official EUVD record ↗
Cyber Security Agency of Singapore · English · CSA-SB-20220330Security Bulletin 30 Mar 2022

The Cyber Security Agency of Singapore included this CVE in its official Security Bulletin 30 Mar 2022, published on 30 March 2022. Open the linked bulletin for the product, severity and reference information published in that issue.

Official advisory ↗
CERT-FR · French · CERTFR-2022-AVI-288Vulnérabilité dans Trend Micro Apex Central

Une vulnérabilité a été découverte dans Trend Micro Apex Central. Elle permet à un attaquant de provoquer une exécution de code arbitraire à distance, un déni de service à distance et une atteinte à l'intégrité des données.

Official advisory ↗
JVN iPedia · Japanese · JVNDB-2022-001494Trend Micro Apex Central および Trend Micro Apex Central as a Service におけるファイルコンテンツの検証不備の脆弱性

トレンドマイクロ株式会社が提供する Trend Micro Apex Central および Trend Micro Apex Central as a Service には、ファイルコンテンツの検証不備（CWE-345, CVE-2022-26871）の脆弱性が存在します。 なお開発者によると、本脆弱性を悪用した攻撃が確認されているとのことです。 この脆弱性情報は、製品利用者への周知を目的に、開発者が JPCERT/CC に報告し、JPCERT/CC が開発者との調整を行いました。

Official advisory ↗
JVN iPedia · Japanese · JVNDB-2024-014079トレンドマイクロ製 Deep Security Agent（Windows 版）および Deep Security Notifier における OS コマンドインジェクションの脆弱性

トレンドマイクロ株式会社から、Deep Security Agent（Windows 版）および Deep Security Notifier における OS コマンドインジェクションの脆弱性（CWE-78、CVE-2024-51503）に対応するアップデートが公開されました。 この脆弱性情報は、製品利用者への周知を目的に、開発者が JPCERT/CC に報告し、JPCERT/CC が開発者との調整を行いました。

Official advisory ↗
03

Patch and workaround

Operational remediation based on structured source evidence.

Status
?Patch availability is based on structured fixed-version fields and authoritative update references. If no fix is verified, check the vendor advisory before making a change.
Patch available
Affected
Trend Micro Apex Central: 2019 (on-premise), SaaS
Fixed
An authoritative update reference is available, but the fixed version is not recorded in the structured CVE fields. Check the linked vendor advisory for the applicable release.
Action
Review the linked authoritative reference and apply the recorded fixed release appropriate to the affected product branch.
Workaround
A mitigation or workaround reference is available from the source linked below; validate it against the affected product and version.
04

Evidence and provenance

Published 29 Mar 2022 · Last source change 21 Oct 2025, 23:15 UTC · CWE-345 · Insufficient Verification of Data Authenticity

CVE recordCVE.org · 5.1
CVSS sourceNIST NVD
EPSS source
?The date BlackTree first stored a score for this CVE from the daily FIRST EPSS feed.
FIRST · tracked since 2026-08-14
European sourceENISA EUVD · EUVD-2022-31420
Product sourceCISA KEV
Remediation sourceCVE/CNA references
CWE sourceCISA ADP
NVD statusNVD enriched

Core structured fields are present and their contributing authorities are shown above.

Material change intelligence

What changed after publication

View recent updates ↗
  1. Affected versionsThe structured affected or fixed version information changed.
    Before
    2019 (on-premise), SaaS · Fixed: An authoritative update reference is available, but the fixed version is not recorded in the structured CVE fields. Check the linked vendor advisory for the applicable release.
    After
    Trend Micro Apex Central: 2019 (on-premise), SaaS · Fixed: An authoritative update reference is available, but the fixed version is not recorded in the structured CVE fields. Check the linked vendor advisory for the applicable release.
    CNA ↗
Material fields only · duplicate refreshes suppressed · history retained for the configured operational retention period
CVE published
Added to CISA KEV
Fixed release or patch reference recorded
ENISA EUVD · EUVD-2022-31420↗CISA KEV record↗CVE authority or vendor reference↗Patch or update reference↗Vendor advisory↗Official CVE record (CNA and ADP data)↗NVD record↗
Technical terms and abbreviations used in this report
CVE
Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures: the public identifier for one disclosed vulnerability.
CVSS
Common Vulnerability Scoring System: a technical severity framework; it is not patching priority by itself.
EPSS
Exploit Prediction Scoring System: FIRST's estimate of the probability that exploitation activity will be observed in the next 30 days; it is a forecast, not confirmation.
CWE
Common Weakness Enumeration: the standard category describing the underlying software or hardware weakness.
CNA
CVE Numbering Authority: an organisation authorised to assign and publish CVE records.
CISA ADP
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Authorized Data Publisher: structured enrichment added to a CVE record.
NVD
National Vulnerability Database: NIST's enrichment service for CVE records.
CERT / CSIRT
A computer security incident response team that publishes warnings or coordinates incident response.
PoC
Proof of concept: public material that demonstrates or helps reproduce exploitation.
CSAF
Common Security Advisory Framework: a machine-readable format for security advisories.
LoTL
Living off the land: abuse of legitimate tools or system functions during an attack.
Free version - for non-commercial use only.CVE-2022-26871 · cve.blacktree.nl