CVE-2025-54948

Trend Micro Apex One's on-premises Management Console contains an OS command injection flaw (CWE-78) that a remote attacker can reach prior to authentication. By sending crafted requests to the console, the attacker can inject arbitrary OS commands and upload malicious code to the server hosting the console. Successful exploitation yields remote code execution on the Apex One management server, which typically holds privileged network access and controls the managed endpoint fleet. Only organizations running the on-premise Apex One Management Console are affected; the source data does not enumerate specific vulnerable builds. The flaw was added to CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 2025-08-18, confirming active exploitation in the wild, though no public proof-of-concept is known and ransomware involvement is not yet confirmed.

What to do: Apply Trend Micro's patched builds or vendor-directed mitigations for the on-prem Apex One Management Console immediately, per the CISA KEV required action and BOD 22-01 guidance (federal agencies face a KEV deadline). Restrict the Management Console from direct internet exposure via firewall or VPN, and hunt the management server for signs of compromise such as unexpected uploaded files or processes, since active exploitation is confirmed. Ransomware association is unconfirmed but should be assumed possible until vendor guidance says otherwise.