# CVE-2025-52837: Privilege escalation in Trend Micro Password Manager

> Attackers can exploit symbolic links to delete arbitrary files and escalate privileges in Trend Micro Password Manager.

- **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:** 10 Jul 2025
- **Updated:** 26 Feb 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-v338-m87c-mjx4

## What is CVE-2025-52837?

CVE-2025-52837 is a high-severity vulnerability in Trend Micro Password Manager, published on 10 Jul 2025. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Trend Micro Password Manager (Consumer) version 5.8.0.1327 and below is vulnerable to a Link Following Privilege Escalation Vulnerability that could allow an attacker the opportunity to abuse symbolic links and other methods to delete any file/folder and achieve privilege escalation.

Weakness: CWE-59 (Improper Link Resolution Before File Access), CWE-64 (Windows Shortcut Following (.LNK))

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2025-52837?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Trendmicro Password Manager.

## How do I fix CVE-2025-52837?

No fix has been published for CVE-2025-52837 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2025-52837 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-52837 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Trend Micro Password Manager

- [CVE-2016-3987](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-3987/): Command injection in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2021-32462](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-32462/): Privilege escalation in Trend Micro Password Manager (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2022-28394](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-28394/): Other in Trend Micro Password Manager (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2022-30523](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-30523/): Privilege escalation in Trend Micro Password Manager (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2022-26337](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-26337/): Path traversal in Trend Micro Password Manager (high 7.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2025-52837 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2025-52837 is a high-severity vulnerability in Trend Micro Password Manager, published on 10 Jul 2025. 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-2025-52837 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Trend Micro Password Manager. 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-2025-52837/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-52837/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-52837
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-52837
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2025-52837

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-52837/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.