CVE-2023-41179: Trend Micro Apex One and Worry-Free Business Security Remote Code Execution Vulnerability
- Is it exploited?
Yes. CISA added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on , 2 days after the CVE record was published.
- How likely is exploitation in the next 30 days?
- 4.2%
EPSS score, percentile 91 of all scored records
- How severe?
- 7.2 High
CVSS v3.1 base score, from CISA's enrichment of the record
- What should I do?
CISA deadline . Apply mitigations per vendor instructions or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.
The CVE record links no vendor advisory, patch or mitigation.
- Which versions are affected?
Affected
- from 2019 (14.0) to before 14.0.0.12380
- from SaaS to before 14.0.12637
- from 10.0 SP1 to before 10.0 SP1 Build 2495
- from SaaS to before 6.7.3578 / 14.3.1105
Source: CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, 2026.10.28, as of ; FIRST Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS), v2026.06.15, as of ; CVE List V5 (CVE Program), cve_2026-10-28_0000Z, as of . About the data.
What to do
Required action, set by CISA
Apply mitigations per vendor instructions or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.
CISA due date for this action: .
Advisories and patches
The CVE record links no vendor advisory, patch or mitigation.
Linked from CISA's catalog entry
- https://success.trendmicro.com/dcx/s/solution/000294994?language=en_US
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-41179
Affected products and versions
As listed in the CVE record.
| Status | Versions |
|---|---|
| Affected | from 2019 (14.0) to before 14.0.0.12380 |
| Status | Versions |
|---|---|
| Affected | from SaaS to before 14.0.12637 |
| Status | Versions |
|---|---|
| Affected | from 10.0 SP1 to before 10.0 SP1 Build 2495 |
| Status | Versions |
|---|---|
| Affected | from SaaS to before 6.7.3578 / 14.3.1105 |
Source: CVE List V5 (CVE Program), cve_2026-10-28_0000Z, as of . About the data.
About this vulnerability
Trend Micro Apex One and Worry-Free Business Security contain an unspecified vulnerability in the third-party anti-virus uninstaller that could allow an attacker to manipulate the module to conduct remote code execution. An attacker must first obtain administrative console access on the target system in order to exploit this vulnerability.
Summary: CISA's KEV catalog, as of .
- CISA added CVE-2023-41179 to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog on 21 Sep 2023.
- CISA's ransomware flag for this entry is "Unknown": no evidence of ransomware use in the catalog, which is not proof of none.
- The due date CISA sets for the required action is 12 Oct 2023.
- The CVE record was published on 19 Sep 2023, 2 days before it was added to KEV.
- The CVE record carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.2 (High), taken from CISA's enrichment of the record.
- FIRST's EPSS model puts the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days at 4.2% (percentile 91), as of 28 Oct 2026.
- CISA's SSVC assessment in the CVE record: exploitation active, automatable no, technical impact total.
Source: CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, 2026.10.28, as of ; CVE List V5 (CVE Program), cve_2026-10-28_0000Z, as of ; FIRST Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS), v2026.06.15, as of . About the data.
Description
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.
Source: CVE List V5 (CVE Program), cve_2026-10-28_0000Z, as of . About the data.
Weakness
- CWE-94: Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection')
CWE and CAPEC are maintained by MITRE; the entries are those named in the CVE record and the KEV entry.
Timeline
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| CVE record published | |
| Added to CISA KEV | |
| CISA due date for the required action | |
| CVE record last updated |
References
More exploited Trend Micro vulnerabilities
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- CVE-2022-40139: Trend Micro Apex One and Apex One as a Service Improper Validation Vulnerability
- CVE-2022-26871: Trend Micro Apex Central Arbitrary File Upload Vulnerability
- CVE-2019-18187: Trend Micro OfficeScan Directory Traversal Vulnerability
- CVE-2020-24557: Trend Micro Multiple Products Improper Access Control Vulnerability