CVE Intelligence
CISA KEV High Injection

CVE-2023-41179 — Trend Micro Apex One and Worry-Free Business Security Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

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.

Published Sep 19, 2023 · Updated Oct 13, 2026 · Sources: CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities, NIST National Vulnerability Database, CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP, GitHub Security Advisories · CNA: trendmicro

Who exploits it and how urgent it is

A 0–100 score combining confirmed exploitation, ransomware and APT use, public exploits, EPSS and severity.

CISA KEV · Sep 21, 2023
How the score was calculated
  • Confirmed exploitation (CISA KEV)+35
  • EPSS 4.3% (30-day exploitation probability)+14
  • Technical severity (high)+6

The score orders the patch queue; it does not replace your asset context (internet exposure, criticality, compensating controls).

Triage

Is it exploited, how likely is exploitation, what does it touch, and how severe do the sources call it.

Exploitation
Confirmed
CISA KEV, listed Sep 21, 2023
EPSS FIRST
4.25%
ahead of 91% of scored CVEs · Oct 14, 2026
Affects
Trend Micro, Inc.
Apex One and 2 more
CVSS base
7.2
High · 4 source(s)

CISA SSVC assessment CISA

Three decision points CISA publishes for the CVEs it assesses (SSVC 2.0.3). A stakeholder decision, not a severity score.

Exploitation
Active
none · proof-of-concept · active
Automatable
No
can an attacker script the kill-chain steps
Technical impact
Total
partial · total control of the vulnerable component

Remediation

Fixes and mitigations documented by the sources — linked to the original advisory.

No fix documented by the sources we poll. That does not mean none exists: check the vendor advisory.

CISA required action CISA

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

US federal deadline: Oct 12, 2023 — passed 1099 day(s) ago

First 24 hours

Ordered from the record’s own fields — exposure first, because you cannot patch what you have not found. A rule-generated starting point.

  1. Identify exposed assets running the affected vendor/product/version combinations (Trend Micro, Inc. Apex One, Trend Micro, Inc. Worry-free Business Security, Trend Micro, Inc. Worry-free Business Security Services).
  2. Treat as emergency remediation: the CVE is in CISA KEV (confirmed exploitation).
  3. No fix documented in the sources: reduce exposure and monitor the vendor advisory.
  4. EPSS ahead of 91% of scored CVEs: prioritize it in the patch queue.
  5. Search available logs for exploit probes matching the vulnerability class (injection), errors and authentication anomalies.

Affected scope

Vendor, product and versions as the sources word them.

VendorProductVersionsStatusSource
Trend Micro, Inc. Apex One version 2019 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
Trend Micro, Inc. Apex One ≥ 2019 (14.0) and < 14.0.0.12380≥ SaaS and < 14.0.12637 Vulnerable CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
Trend Micro, Inc. Worry-free Business Security version 10.0-sp1 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
Trend Micro, Inc. Worry-free Business Security ≥ 10.0 SP1 and < 10.0 SP1 Build 2495 Vulnerable CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
Trend Micro, Inc. Worry-free Business Security Services versions not specified by the source Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
Trend Micro, Inc. Worry-free Business Security Services ≥ SaaS and < 6.7.3578 / 14.3.1105 Vulnerable CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP

Attack characteristics

The CVSS vector, decoded. It describes the attack, not your exposure to it.

Attack vector
Network
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
High
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

Every base score collected

Sources score independently and may disagree; each row says who scored it and under which version.

ScoreVersionSeverityExpl.ImpactScored by
7.2 CVSS 3.1 High 1.2 5.9 nvd@nist.gov via NIST National Vulnerability Database
7.2 CVSS 3.1 High 1.2 5.9 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0 via NIST National Vulnerability Database
7.2 CVSS 3.1 High — — GitHub, Inc. via GitHub Security Advisories
7.2 CVSS 3.1 High — — CISA-ADP via CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H (score shown at the top: nvd@nist.gov)

Weakness MITRE

Weakness class according to MITRE’s CWE catalog.

CWE-94 · Code Injection

Other CVEs with this weakness →

CISA KEV details CISA

CISA lists a CVE once it has evidence of exploitation against real targets.

Listed
Sep 21, 2023
Federal deadline
Oct 12, 2023
passed 1099 day(s) ago
Ransomware use
Unknown

CISA records ransomware use only for campaigns it has confirmed, so “Unknown” means unrecorded, not ruled out. The deadline binds US federal agencies; for everyone else it is a reference date.

EPSS over time FIRST

Oct 12, 2026 → Oct 14, 2026 · 3 reading(s) · max 4.25%

Detection

Read off the CVSS vector and the weakness class. Starting points, not tested rules.

  • Prioritize edge telemetry for the network-reachable component (proxy, WAF, IDS/IPS).
  • Look for parameters with command/query metacharacters and unexpected child processes of the service.
  • Hunt retroactively in logs from before Sep 21, 2023 (KEV listing): exploitation may have started earlier.
web/proxy/WAF logsnetwork IDS/IPSapplication logsendpoint telemetry (EDR)

Timeline

What happened to this CVE, newest first.

  • 2026
  • Affected products added · trend micro, inc./trend micro apex one, trend micro, inc./trend micro worry-free business security, trend micro, inc./tr
    Oct 13, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
  • SSVC assessment updated
    Oct 13, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
  • Record published
    Oct 13, 2026
  • Affected products added · trendmicro/apex one, trendmicro/worry-free business security, trendmicro/worry-free business security services
    Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • CVSS changed · 7.2
    Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • Source status changed · → Analyzed
    Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • Added to CISA KEV (detected)
    Oct 13, 2026 · CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities
  • Record created in this database
    Oct 13, 2026 · CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities
  • 2023
  • Added to CISA KEV catalog
    Sep 20, 2023 · CISA
  • CVE published
    Sep 19, 2023 · trendmicro

Source activity

Repeated readings are counted rather than listed.

  • 2× References added · Oct 13, 2026 – Oct 13, 2026
  • 1× Official description updated · Oct 13, 2026 – Oct 13, 2026

References

7 on the record

Elsewhere on this site

Trend Micro, Inc.
every CVE for this vendor
2023-09
what else CISA listed that month
Injection
same class
CWE-94
other pages naming this weakness

Related CVEs (same products)

  • CVE-2026-45208 TOCTOU Race Condition in Trend Micro, Inc. Apex One May 21, 2026
  • CVE-2026-45207 An origin validation vulnerability in the Apex One/SEP agent could allow a local… May 21, 2026
  • CVE-2026-45206 An origin validation vulnerability in the Apex One/SEP agent could allow a local… May 21, 2026
  • CVE-2026-34929 An origin validation vulnerability in the Apex One/SEP agent could allow a local… May 21, 2026
  • CVE-2026-34927 An origin validation vulnerability in the Apex One/SEP agent could allow a local… May 21, 2026
  • CVE-2026-34928 An origin validation vulnerability in the Apex One/SEP agent could allow a local… May 21, 2026

Not in any source we poll

Listed rather than left blank: an empty field and an unmeasured one look identical on screen, and only one is a reason to look elsewhere.

  • No fixed version, patch or mitigation documented.
  • No confirmed IOCs, IP addresses, domains, file hashes, or malware artifacts supplied.
  • No organization-specific asset inventory, compensating-control status, or patch deployment evidence supplied.
  • No exploit packet captures, log samples, or incident case IDs supplied.

Answered from this record

Text assembled only from the fields above — no additional claims.

What should defenders know first?

CVE-2023-41179 is "Trend Micro Apex One and Worry-Free Business Security Remote Code Execution Vulnerability", rated High. It affects Apex One (Trend Micro, Inc.); versions are in the scope table. It is in CISA KEV: there is evidence of real-world exploitation. CVSS 7.2 describes technical severity. EPSS 4.25% estimates the probability of exploitation in 30 days; neither replaces your asset context. First verify whether exposed or business-critical assets run the affected versions, apply vendor fixes or mitigations, and preserve logs for review.

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