Actively Exploited — CISA KEV

CVE-2025-54948: Trend Micro Apex One Critical Vulnerability

Severity: Critical | CVSS 3.1: 9.4 | Published: 2025-08-05 | KEV Added: 2025-08-18

What is CVE-2025-54948?

A vulnerability in Trend Micro Apex One (on-premise) management console could allow a pre-authenticated remote attacker to upload malicious code and execute commands on affected installations.

Technical Analysis

Weakness Classification

This vulnerability is classified as CWE-78 — OS Command Injection. The application passes untrusted input to an operating system shell command, enabling an attacker to execute arbitrary OS commands with the application's privileges.

Attack Vector Breakdown

  • Attack Vector: Network
  • Attack Complexity: Low
  • Privileges Required: None
  • User Interaction: None
  • Scope: Unchanged
  • Confidentiality: High
  • Integrity: Low
  • Availability: High

Impact Analysis

This vulnerability is exploitable over the network, meaning any system reachable via the internet or internal network is potentially at risk without physical access. The attack complexity is low, requires no special privileges, and needs no user interaction — making it straightforward to exploit at scale. Successful exploitation can result in full confidentiality breach (complete data disclosure), total availability loss (denial of service). The application passes untrusted input to an operating system shell command, enabling an attacker to execute arbitrary OS commands with the application's privileges.

Exploitation Probability (EPSS): 13.9% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days (94th percentile). This is a significantly elevated exploitation probability — prioritize patching.

Is CVE-2025-54948 being exploited?

Yes. CVE-2025-54948 is listed in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, restricted to CVEs with confirmed active exploitation in the wild. CISA added this vulnerability on 2025-08-18. Inclusion in KEV triggers the patching mandate under BOD 22-01 for U.S. federal civilian agencies, with a remediation deadline of 2025-09-08.

How to fix CVE-2025-54948

Apply the security update issued by Trend Micro for Apex One. If an immediate patch is not possible, consult the vendor advisory for mitigation guidance, restrict network exposure of the affected service, and monitor logs for indicators of exploitation. CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog requires U.S. federal agencies to remediate this vulnerability by the due date shown below under Binding Operational Directive 22-01. Private organizations should treat KEV entries as priority-one patches because active exploitation has been confirmed in the wild.

Related Vulnerabilities

Other actively exploited vulnerabilities affecting Apex One or sharing the same weakness (CWE-78):

  • CVE-2026-34926 (Medium 6.7) [same product] — A directory traversal vulnerability in the Apex One (on-premise) server could…
  • CVE-2026-25108 (High 8.8) [same CWE] — FileZen contains an OS command injection vulnerability. When FileZen Antivirus…
  • CVE-2026-1731 (Critical 9.8) [same CWE] — BeyondTrust Remote Support (RS) and certain older versions of Privileged…
  • CVE-2025-11953 (Critical 9.8) [same CWE] — The Metro Development Server, which is opened by the React Native Community…
  • CVE-2025-64328 (High 7.2) [same CWE] — FreePBX Endpoint Manager is a module for managing telephony endpoints in…

Frequently asked questions

Is CVE-2025-54948 critical?

CVE-2025-54948 has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.4 — Critical severity. It should be treated as a priority patch, especially given the active exploitation confirmed by CISA.

Is CVE-2025-54948 being actively exploited?

Yes — CISA added CVE-2025-54948 to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 2025-08-18. Inclusion in KEV means CISA has confirmed in-the-wild exploitation.

How do I patch CVE-2025-54948?

Apply the security update from Trend Micro for Apex One. Federal agencies must remediate by 2025-09-08 under BOD 22-01.

What type of vulnerability is CVE-2025-54948?

CVE-2025-54948 is classified under CWE-78 (OS Command Injection). The application passes untrusted input to an operating system shell command, enabling an attacker to execute arbitrary OS commands with the application's privileges.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2025-54948?

CVE-2025-54948 has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.4, classifying it as Critical severity. The attack vector is Network, attack complexity is Low, and no privileges are required.