CVE-2025-49220: Trend Micro Apex Central RCE Vulnerability

CVE-2025-49220 Overview

CVE-2025-49220 is an insecure deserialization vulnerability affecting Trend Micro Apex Central below version 8.0.7007. This vulnerability enables remote attackers to achieve pre-authentication remote code execution on affected installations. The flaw is similar to CVE-2025-49219 but exists in a different method within the application.

Critical Impact

Unauthenticated remote attackers can execute arbitrary code on vulnerable Trend Micro Apex Central servers, potentially leading to complete system compromise without requiring any user credentials.

Affected Products

• Trend Micro Apex Central 2019 (all builds prior to 8.0.7007)
• Trend Micro Apex Central 2019 builds 3752, 5158, 6016, 6288, 6394, 6481, 6511, 6571, 6658, 6660, 6890, 6955
• Microsoft Windows (as the underlying operating system platform)

Discovery Timeline

• 2025-06-17 - CVE-2025-49220 published to NVD
• 2025-09-08 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-49220

Vulnerability Analysis

This insecure deserialization vulnerability (CWE-502) allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on affected Trend Micro Apex Central installations without requiring authentication. The flaw stems from the application's failure to properly validate serialized data before deserializing it, combined with the use of obsolete functions (CWE-477). When a specially crafted serialized object is submitted to the vulnerable method, the application processes it without adequate security checks, allowing an attacker to inject malicious code that executes with the privileges of the Apex Central service.

The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it can be exploited over the network without any authentication requirements, making it accessible to any attacker with network visibility to the Apex Central management console.

Root Cause

The root cause of CVE-2025-49220 is twofold: the application uses obsolete functions (CWE-477) that lack modern security safeguards, combined with improper handling of untrusted deserialization input (CWE-502). When the vulnerable method receives serialized data from an untrusted source, it fails to validate or sanitize the input before deserializing it. This allows attackers to craft malicious serialized objects that, when deserialized, trigger arbitrary code execution on the target system.

Attack Vector

The attack vector is network-based and requires no authentication or user interaction. An attacker can send specially crafted HTTP requests containing malicious serialized payloads to the vulnerable endpoint on the Trend Micro Apex Central server. The vulnerability exists in a specific method that handles deserialization operations differently from the related CVE-2025-49219, but produces the same devastating outcome: pre-authentication remote code execution.

The attack flow typically involves:

1. Identifying an exposed Trend Micro Apex Central installation
2. Crafting a malicious serialized payload designed to execute arbitrary commands
3. Sending the payload to the vulnerable endpoint without authentication
4. Achieving code execution with the privileges of the Apex Central service

Technical details regarding specific exploitation methods can be found in the Zero Day Initiative Advisory ZDI-25-367.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-49220

Indicators of Compromise

• Unexpected process spawning from Trend Micro Apex Central service processes
• Anomalous network connections originating from the Apex Central server to external or internal hosts
• Suspicious HTTP POST requests to Apex Central endpoints containing serialized object patterns
• Creation of unauthorized files or modifications to system configurations on the Apex Central server

Detection Strategies

• Monitor Apex Central web server logs for unusual HTTP requests targeting deserialization endpoints
• Implement network-based intrusion detection rules to identify serialized Java/.NET object patterns in HTTP traffic
• Deploy endpoint detection and response (EDR) solutions to detect suspicious child process creation from Apex Central services
• Establish baseline behavior for Apex Central servers and alert on deviations

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable detailed logging on Trend Micro Apex Central servers and forward logs to a SIEM solution
• Monitor for process execution chains that indicate exploitation attempts (e.g., cmd.exe or powershell.exe spawned by Apex Central processes)
• Track network connections from Apex Central servers to identify potential command and control communications
• Implement file integrity monitoring on critical Apex Central directories

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-49220

Immediate Actions Required

• Upgrade Trend Micro Apex Central to version 8.0.7007 or later immediately
• If immediate patching is not possible, restrict network access to the Apex Central management interface
• Implement network segmentation to isolate Apex Central servers from untrusted network segments
• Review Apex Central server logs for any signs of exploitation attempts

Patch Information

Trend Micro has released a security patch addressing this vulnerability in Apex Central version 8.0.7007. Organizations should review the Trend Micro Solution Guide for detailed patching instructions and additional security recommendations.

Workarounds

• Restrict network access to Trend Micro Apex Central management interfaces using firewall rules
• Place Apex Central servers behind a VPN or other access control mechanism to limit exposure
• Implement web application firewall (WAF) rules to block suspicious serialized payloads
• Monitor and restrict outbound connections from Apex Central servers to reduce post-exploitation impact

# Example firewall configuration to restrict Apex Central access
# Restrict management interface to trusted administrator networks only
netsh advfirewall firewall add rule name="Block Apex Central Public Access" dir=in action=block protocol=tcp localport=443 remoteip=any
netsh advfirewall firewall add rule name="Allow Apex Central Admin Network" dir=in action=allow protocol=tcp localport=443 remoteip=10.0.0.0/8