CVE-2019-14688 in Installer
Summary
by MITRE
Trend Micro has repackaged installers for several Trend Micro products that were found to utilize a version of an install package that had a DLL hijack vulnerability that could be exploited during a new product installation. The vulnerability was found to ONLY be exploitable during an initial product installation by an authorized user. The attacker must convince the target to download malicious DLL locally which must be present when the installer is run.
If you want to get best quality of vulnerability data, you may have to visit VulDB.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/11/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2019-14688 represents a significant security flaw in Trend Micro's software distribution practices that leveraged a DLL hijacking mechanism during product installation processes. This weakness emerged from the company's use of repackaged installers that incorporated an outdated installation package containing a critical vulnerability. The flaw specifically exploited the Windows dynamic link library loading mechanism where the installer would search for required DLL files in a predictable order, allowing an attacker to place malicious components in the expected locations. The vulnerability was classified under CWE-426 as an Untrusted Search Path, which directly relates to the insecure handling of dynamic library loading sequences that could be manipulated by adversaries. The exploitation vector required specific conditions to be met, as the vulnerability was only present during initial product installations and could not be triggered through other system operations or network-based attacks.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple privilege escalation as it represents a sophisticated attack surface that could enable adversaries to execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the installing user. Attackers needed to convince victims to download and place malicious DLL files in specific locations that would be accessed during installation, making this a social engineering component that required user interaction. The requirement for local presence of the malicious DLL files during installation means that this vulnerability did not represent a remote code execution threat but rather a local privilege escalation vector that could be leveraged by attackers who already had some level of access to the target system. The attack chain typically involved the user downloading a malicious installer or being tricked into running a modified installation package, which would then execute the malicious DLL during the installation process.
Security professionals should understand that this vulnerability exemplifies the broader category of supply chain attacks that target legitimate software distribution channels rather than directly attacking the software itself. The exploitation pattern aligns with ATT&CK technique T1059.001 for command and scripting interpreter and T1068 for exploit for privilege escalation, demonstrating how legitimate software installation processes can be subverted to achieve malicious objectives. The vulnerability's limitation to installation time means that organizations could potentially mitigate the risk by implementing strict software installation policies and ensuring that only trusted installation packages are used. Network segmentation and user access controls could help prevent unauthorized installation activities, while regular security audits of software distribution channels would help identify potentially compromised packages. Organizations should also consider implementing application whitelisting solutions that can prevent the execution of unauthorized DLL files during installation processes, providing an additional layer of defense against this specific class of attack. The incident underscores the importance of maintaining current software versions and conducting regular security assessments of third-party software packages to prevent similar vulnerabilities from being introduced through legitimate software distribution channels.