CVE-2022-48191

SYSTEM code execution via cleanup-engine file race

Published Jan 18, 2023 · Updated Apr 3, 2025

Local privilege escalation in Trend Micro Maximum Security 17.7 allows local users to execute arbitrary code as SYSTEM. The Damage Cleanup Engine performs file operations without proper locking, allowing a malicious executable's folder to be replaced with a mount point during removal and restoration. Low-privileged code execution on Windows is required; a successful race redirects privileged cleanup operations and yields SYSTEM execution.

CVSS severity7.0
High
EPSS probability0.19%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Local privilege escalation in Trend Micro Maximum Security 17.7 allows local users to execute arbitrary code as SYSTEM. The Damage Cleanup Engine performs file operations without proper locking, allowing a malicious executable's folder to be replaced with a mount point during removal and restoration. Low-privileged code execution on Windows is required; a successful race redirects privileged cleanup operations and yields SYSTEM execution.

The record

CVE
CVE-2022-48191
Published
Jan 18, 2023
Updated
Apr 3, 2025
Vendor
Trend Micro
Product
Trend Micro Maximum Security
Classifications
CWE-367, CAPEC-27, CAPEC-29, T1068
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jan 18, 2023CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Apr 3, 2025Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.

Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=2022 (17.7) <17.7

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Trend Micro · Trend Micro Maximum Securityversion=2022 (17.7) <17.7

Published CVSS scores

7.8Zero Day InitiativeCVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
7.0NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-367Time-of-check Time-of-use (TOCTOU) Race Condition
CAPEC-27Leveraging Race Conditions via Symbolic Links
CAPEC-29Leveraging Time-of-Check and Time-of-Use (TOCTOU) Race Conditions
T1068Exploitation for Privilege Escalation

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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