basicsecurity.net
Proof, not just disclosure.
Threats / Trend Micro / CVE-2022-26871
CVE-2022-26871 · EUVD no mirror located · GCVE no mirror located Verified 2026-06-22

Trend Micro Apex Central vulnerability

An arbitrary file upload vulnerability in Trend Micro Apex Central allows remote code execution. The vulnerability has been exploited in the wild.

Verdict

Today item — known-exploited.

This vulnerability enables unauthenticated or low-privileged attackers to upload malicious files and achieve remote code execution on affected Apex Central instances, potentially compromising enterprise security infrastructure.

CISA KEV Yes · 2022-03-313EPSS 0.19633 (verify live)4
01

Is it exploitable?

— the evidence, ranked above the score
Reported exploitation
4 independent public reports of in-the-wild exploitation are cataloged.Distinct reporting sources (vendor, incident response, government); open them for the underlying claims.
Exploited in the wild
Listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2022-03-31).
CISA KEV ↗Confirmed
Probability (EPSS)
EPSS 0.19633 — modeled likelihood of exploitation activity.EPSS is a daily-changing model output — open the source for today's value.
Severity / affected
Affected: Trend Micro, Apex Central. Confirm exact fixed builds in the vendor advisory.
NVD ↗Reported
Weakness (CWE)
Mapped to CWE-184 Incomplete Blocklist.CWE assignment from the public NVD record; the weakness class drives how the flaw is exploited.
NVD ↗Reported
02

Who’s exploiting it?

— attribution turns risk into urgency
Attribution not established

No confirmed (advisory-backed) threat-actor attribution is established for this record. Absence of a named actor is not absence of compromise — see Coverage & confidence.

03

Why it matters

— the attack path, told twice: adversary, then board
1

Front door — unauthenticated access narrative 1

Attacker
I identify that Apex Central accepts file uploads without proper validation of file type or content.
Business
The organization's central security management platform becomes an entry point for attackers to bypass perimeter defenses.
2

Keys to the kingdom — privilege/identity takeover narrative 2

Attacker
I upload a malicious executable or script file by circumventing upload restrictions.
Business
Attackers gain code execution privileges within the trusted security infrastructure.
3

Lateral reach — past segmentation narrative 3

Attacker
I execute the uploaded file to establish persistence and lateral movement across managed endpoints.
Business
The compromise of Apex Central enables attackers to control or disable security protections across the entire managed environment.
04

What to do

— defensible action
  • Remediate per the vendor advisory — confirm the fixed build for your version and verify exposure.1
Say it to the boardA vulnerability with this evidence profile is a defensible budget line, not a backlog ticket — fund the change against the proof above.
05

Coverage & confidence

— what we know, and what we don’t

Established (cited)

  • KEV listing (CISA)
  • EPSS probability (FIRST)
  • 4 reported-exploitation source(s)
  • CWE weakness mapping (NVD)
  • Catalogued by trendmicro (CNA)
  • Coverage gaps — stated, not hidden

  • No EUVD / GCVE mirror in feed — single-authority dependency for the identifier.
  • EPSS & exposure are time-varying; verify live at the source.
  • Threat-actor attribution not established from feed data — absence of a name is not absence of compromise.
  • No finder/reporter credit recorded in the public CVE entry — the work behind this find is unattributed.
  • Disclosure & credit2
    Catalogued by trendmicroCNA
    Credited with finding itNo finder named in the public CVE record — the work behind this find is unattributed.