CVE-2022-27883
📋 TL;DR
This vulnerability in Trend Micro Antivirus for Mac allows attackers with low-level system privileges to create symbolic links that can lead to privilege escalation. It affects Trend Micro Antivirus for Mac version 11.5 users. Attackers need initial access to the system to exploit this weakness.
💻 Affected Systems
- Trend Micro Antivirus for Mac
📦 What is this software?
Antivirus For Mac by Trendmicro
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
An attacker gains full administrative/root privileges on the Mac system, enabling complete system compromise, data theft, malware installation, and persistence.
Likely Case
Local attackers escalate from standard user privileges to administrator privileges, allowing them to bypass security controls and install malicious software.
If Mitigated
With proper access controls and least privilege principles, impact is limited to the compromised user account without system-wide escalation.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires local access and low-level privileges. The vulnerability involves improper symlink handling.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 11.5.1 or later
Vendor Advisory: https://helpcenter.trendmicro.com/en-us/article/tmka-10978
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Open Trend Micro Antivirus for Mac. 2. Click 'Check for Updates' in the main interface. 3. Follow prompts to install version 11.5.1 or later. 4. Restart your Mac to complete the update.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Remove vulnerable version
allUninstall Trend Micro Antivirus for Mac 11.5 and use alternative security software
sudo /Applications/Trend\ Micro\ Antivirus.app/Contents/Resources/uninstall.sh
Restrict symlink creation
linuxImplement filesystem policies to restrict symbolic link creation by non-admin users
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict least privilege access controls to limit user permissions
- Monitor for suspicious symlink creation and privilege escalation attempts
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check Trend Micro Antivirus version in the application interface or run: defaults read /Applications/Trend\ Micro\ Antivirus.app/Contents/Info.plist CFBundleShortVersionStringCheck Version:
defaults read /Applications/Trend\ Micro\ Antivirus.app/Contents/Info.plist CFBundleShortVersionStringVerify Fix Applied:
Verify version is 11.5.1 or higher using the same command and ensure no privilege escalation occurs during testing📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual symlink creation in protected directories
- Privilege escalation attempts from standard to admin users
Network Indicators:
- None - this is a local vulnerability
SIEM Query:
process_name:"ln" AND command_line:"-s" AND user_change_event