IRONSMITHINTEL
HIGHCVSS7.8
|
Actively Exploited
|CISA KEV|CVE-2020-24557|Auth: low — authenticated user|Reboot: required|Manual only

Trend Micro Multiple Products Improper Access Control Vulnerability

Trend Micro Apex One, OfficeScan, and Worry-Free Business Security on Microsoft Windows contain an improper access control vulnerability that may allow an attacker to manipulate a particular product folder to disable the security temporarily, abuse a specific Windows function, and attain privilege escalation.

Published Sep 1, 2020 · Updated May 16, 2026
Why patchRisk explained in plain English
Worst-case scenarioIf unpatched

A local attacker, with a low-privilege account, can achieve full data confidentiality loss, arbitrary modification of data, complete denial of service or system unavailability. Federal agencies are required to remediate by 2022-05-03 under CISA BOD 22-01.

How the attack worksNo clicks needed

This vulnerability affects Trend Micro Apex One, OfficeScan, and Worry-Free Business Security. A vulnerability in Trend Micro Apex One and Worry-Free Business Security 10.0 SP1 on Microsoft Windows may allow an attacker to manipulate a particular product folder to disable the security temporarily, abuse a specific Windows function and attain privilege escalation. An attacker must first obtain the ability to execute low-privileged code on the target system in order to exploit this vulnerability. Please note that version 1909 (OS Build 18363.719) of Microsoft Windows 10 mitigates hard links, but previous versions are affected. Exploitation requires local access, low attack complexity, a low-privilege authenticated account, and no user interaction required.

Am I affected?Quick check

Probably yes if any of these apply:

IT Security
Running apex one: -, 2019; worry-free business security: 10.0
Real-world incidentsWhat we've seen

CISA added this CVE to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 2021-11-03 based on evidence of active exploitation in the wild. Federal agencies required to remediate by 2022-05-03.

How to patch

Manual remediation steps

Apply the Vendor Patch

This vulnerability is in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog — apply the vendor's security update as soon as possible.

CISA required action: Apply updates per vendor instructions.

References

    1
    Vendor advisory: https://success.trendmicro.com/solution/000263632
    1
    NVD entry: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-24557
    1
    CISA KEV: https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2020-24557
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