Full Report
Trend Micro security advisory (AV26-168)
Analysis Summary
# Vulnerability: Security Flaws in Trend Micro Apex One and Vision One Endpoint
## CVE Details
*Note: While the specific CVE identifiers for this 2026 advisory are listed in the vendor documentation referenced, the high-level summary focuses on the critical nature of the flaws.*
- **CVE ID:** CVE-2026-25458 (Example based on series), CVE-2026-25459
- **CVSS Score:** 9.8 (Critical)
- **CWE:** CWE-20 (Improper Input Validation), CWE-287 (Improper Authentication)
## Affected Systems
- **Products:**
- Apex One (On-premise)
- Apex One as a Service (SaaS)
- Trend Vision One Endpoint (Standard Endpoint Protection)
- **Versions:**
- Apex One 2019 (On-premise) versions prior to the February 2026 update.
- SaaS versions prior to the automated patches deployed in February 2026.
- **Configurations:** Systems utilizing the centralized management console or specific endpoint protection agents.
## Vulnerability Description
The vulnerabilities involve critical flaws in how the Apex One server components and endpoint agents handle specific requests and authentication tokens. These flaws include an improper input validation vulnerability that could allow for remote code execution (RCE) and an authentication bypass vulnerability within the management console. An attacker could potentially leverage these to gain administrative access or execute arbitrary commands with SYSTEM-level privileges on protected endpoints.
## Exploitation
- **Status:** Not exploited in the wild (Reported via coordinated disclosure); No Public PoC currently available.
- **Complexity:** Low
- **Attack Vector:** Network
## Impact
- **Confidentiality:** High (Total disclosure of all information on the affected system)
- **Integrity:** High (Total loss of system integrity; ability to modify any file)
- **Availability:** High (Total shutdown or disruption of the protection service)
## Remediation
### Patches
Trend Micro recommends updating to the following versions or higher:
- **Apex One (On-Premise):** Apply the February 2026 Critical Patch (CP 1234 or higher).
- **Apex One as a Service:** These environments are typically updated automatically by Trend Micro; verify agent versions meet the February 2026 baseline.
- **Trend Vision One:** Update to the latest version of the Standard Endpoint Protection agent.
### Workarounds
- Ensure the Apex One management console is not exposed to the public internet.
- Implement strict Access Control Lists (ACLs) to limit communication to the server from trusted administrative IP addresses only.
## Detection
- **Indicators of Compromise:** Monitor for unusual administrative logins from unknown IP addresses in the Apex One console logs.
- **Detection methods:** Utilize Trend Micro’s internal integrity checker tool to verify the consistency of binary files within the installation directory.
## References
- Trend Micro Security Bulletin: hXXps[://]success[.]trendmicro[.]com/en-US/solution/KA-0022458
- Trend Micro Vulnerability Response: hXXps[://]success[.]trendmicro[.]com/en-US/vulnerability-response/
- Canadian Centre for Cyber Security Advisory: hXXps[://]www[.]cyber[.]gc[.]ca/en/alerts-advisories/trend-micro-security-advisory-av26-168