CVE-2022-24680 in Apex One
Summary
by MITRE • 02/24/2022
A security link following local privilege escalation vulnerability in Trend Micro Apex One, Trend Micro Apex One as a Service, Trend Micro Worry-Free Business Security 10.0 SP1 and Trend Micro Worry-Free Business Security Services agents could allow a local attacker to create a mount point and leverage this for arbitrary folder deletion, leading to escalated 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.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/26/2022
This vulnerability represents a critical local privilege escalation flaw within Trend Micro's security suite that exploits a dangerous symlink manipulation technique. The vulnerability stems from improper handling of mount point creation during system operations, allowing attackers with low-privileged access to manipulate the filesystem in ways that can lead to arbitrary code execution with elevated privileges. The flaw specifically affects Trend Micro Apex One, Apex One as a Service, Worry-Free Business Security 10.0 SP1, and related agent installations, making it a widespread concern across multiple product lines.
The technical exploitation involves creating a malicious mount point that can be leveraged to delete arbitrary folders, which in turn enables privilege escalation by modifying critical system files or directories that require elevated permissions to access. This technique follows the common ATT&CK tactic of privilege escalation through exploitation of system-level vulnerabilities, specifically mapping to T1068 which covers "Signed Binary Proxy Execution" and T1548.1 which covers "Abuse Elevation Control Mechanism". The vulnerability operates under CWE-284 which describes "Improper Access Control" and specifically relates to inadequate protection of system resources that should be restricted to privileged users only.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe as it allows attackers to gain elevated system privileges through a relatively straightforward attack vector that requires only local execution capability. Once exploited, the attacker can potentially access sensitive system data, modify critical security configurations, and establish persistent access to the compromised system. This vulnerability essentially undermines the fundamental security model of the affected products by allowing unauthorized privilege escalation through filesystem manipulation. The attack chain begins with obtaining low-privileged code execution, typically through social engineering, phishing, or exploitation of other vulnerabilities, followed by the mount point manipulation to achieve privilege escalation.
Mitigation strategies should focus on implementing strict access controls and monitoring for suspicious mount point creation activities. System administrators should ensure that all affected Trend Micro products are updated to the latest versions that contain patches for this vulnerability. Network segmentation and least privilege principles should be enforced to limit the potential impact of successful exploitation. Additionally, monitoring for unauthorized filesystem modifications and mount point creation activities can help detect attempts to exploit this vulnerability. Organizations should also consider implementing application whitelisting policies to prevent unauthorized execution of potentially malicious code that could leverage this privilege escalation vector. The vulnerability highlights the importance of proper privilege separation and secure implementation of system-level operations that handle mount point creation and filesystem manipulation.