# CVE-2023-52094: Path traversal in Trend Micro Apex One

> A local attacker can exploit an updater link following flaw to delete arbitrary folders, resulting in local privilege escalation on Trend Micro Apex One installations.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 23 Jan 2024
- **Updated:** 20 Jun 2025
- **Also known as:** GHSA-9gjc-h498-ff34

## What is CVE-2023-52094?

CVE-2023-52094 is a high-severity path traversal vulnerability in Trendmicro Apex One, published on 23 Jan 2024. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

An updater link following vulnerability in the Trend Micro Apex One agent could allow a local attacker to abuse the updater to delete an arbitrary folder, leading for a local privilege escalation 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.

Weakness: CWE-59 (Improper Link Resolution Before File Access)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-52094?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Trendmicro Apex One.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-52094?

No fix has been published for CVE-2023-52094 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2023-52094 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-52094 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Trendmicro Apex One

- [CVE-2020-8599](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-8599/): Trend Micro Apex One and OfficeScan Authentication Bypass (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2025-54948](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-54948/): Trend Micro Apex One OS Command Injection (critical 9.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2021-36741](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-36741/): Trend Micro Multiple Products Improper Input Validation (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2020-8467](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-8467/): Trend Micro Apex One and OfficeScan Remote Code Execution (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2020-8468](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-8468/): Trend Micro Multiple Products Content Validation Escape (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-52094 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-52094 is a high-severity path traversal vulnerability in Trendmicro Apex One, published on 23 Jan 2024. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-52094 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Trendmicro Apex One. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-52094/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-52094/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-52094
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-52094
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-52094

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-52094/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.