CVE-2021-44019 in Worry-Free Business Security
Summary
by MITRE • 12/03/2021
An unnecessary privilege vulnerability in Trend Micro Worry-Free Business Security 10.0 SP1 could allow a local attacker to escalate privileges on affected installations. Please note: an attacker must first obtain the ability to execute low-privileged code on the target system in order to exploit this vulnerability. This vulnerability is similar to but not identical to CVE-2021-44020 and 44021.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/09/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2021-44019 represents a critical privilege escalation flaw within Trend Micro Worry-Free Business Security version 10.0 SP1, where a local attacker can elevate their privileges from a low-privileged user account to system-level access. This vulnerability specifically affects installations of the Trend Micro security solution, which is widely deployed in enterprise environments for endpoint protection and threat management. The flaw stems from improper privilege handling within the software's architecture, creating a pathway for malicious actors to bypass normal access controls and gain elevated system permissions.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves a privilege separation issue where the application fails to properly validate or enforce access controls during specific operational sequences. According to CWE classification, this corresponds to CWE-276: Incorrect Permission Assignment, which describes scenarios where programs or systems assign permissions incorrectly, allowing unauthorized access to resources or functionality. The vulnerability operates through a local attack vector requiring initial access to execute code at a low privilege level, which then allows the attacker to leverage the flaw and escalate privileges. This prerequisite for exploitation aligns with ATT&CK framework technique T1068: Exploitation for Privilege Escalation, where adversaries use software vulnerabilities to gain elevated privileges.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability poses significant risk to organizations relying on Trend Micro Worry-Free Business Security, as it could enable attackers to gain complete system control without requiring external network access or sophisticated attack vectors. The exploitation process requires an initial foothold through other means such as phishing, malicious email attachments, or other initial compromise techniques, but once achieved, the attacker can leverage this privilege escalation to access sensitive data, modify system configurations, install additional malware, or establish persistence within the network. The similarity between CVE-2021-44019 and related vulnerabilities CVE-2021-44020 and CVE-2021-44021 suggests a broader pattern of privilege handling issues within the affected software version, indicating potential systemic architectural weaknesses rather than isolated incidents.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including applying the latest security patches provided by Trend Micro, which would address the underlying privilege handling mechanisms. Network segmentation and privilege minimization strategies should be reinforced to limit the potential impact of successful exploitation attempts. System administrators should conduct thorough vulnerability assessments to identify all affected installations and ensure proper access controls are in place. The ATT&CK framework suggests implementing monitoring for suspicious privilege escalation activities and maintaining up-to-date threat intelligence to detect potential exploitation attempts. Additionally, organizations should consider implementing application whitelisting policies and regular security audits to prevent unauthorized code execution that could lead to privilege escalation. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of proper privilege separation in security software, as these tools are often granted elevated privileges to function correctly but must maintain strict access controls to prevent abuse by malicious actors.