# CVE-2026-45206: Trend Micro Apex One and Vision One SEP privilege escalation in agent

Source: https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-45206-trend-micro-apex-one-and-vision-one-sep-privilege-escalation-in  
Publisher: Junglewise Threat Intelligence, https://junglewise.ai/threats  
Published: 2026-05-21. Updated: 2026-05-21  
License: CC BY 4.0 with a link back

CVE-2026-45206 · Severity: high · CVSS 7.8 · Published 2026-05-21

Trend Micro Apex One and Vision One endpoint agents are security software used to protect corporate workstations and servers from malware. A vulnerability in these agents could allow a user who already has limited access to a computer to gain full administrative control. This could be used by an attacker to disable security protections or gain deeper access to the corporate network.

Technologies: [Trend Micro Apex One Agent](https://junglewise.ai/threats/technologies/apex-one-agent), [Trend Micro Apex One as a Service Agent](https://junglewise.ai/threats/technologies/apex-one-as-a-service-agent), [Trend Micro Vision One Endpoint Security - Standard Endpoint Protection (SEP) Agent](https://junglewise.ai/threats/technologies/vision-one-endpoint-security-agent). Vendors: [Trend Micro](https://junglewise.ai/threats/vendors/trend-micro).

## Quick answers

**Is CVE-2026-45206 exploited in the wild?** No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-2026-45206 being exploited in the wild.

**How severe is CVE-2026-45206?** High severity, with a CVSS score of 7.8, published 21 May 2026.

**Which products and versions are affected?** Trend Micro Apex One as a Service Agent Builds below 14.0.20731; Trend Micro Vision One Endpoint Security - Standard Endpoint Protection (SEP) Agent Builds below 14.0.20731.

**Is there a fix for CVE-2026-45206?** A patch was published on 2026-05-21. Junglewise finds every place you run it, drafts the upgrade and applies it once you approve.

**How is CVE-2026-45206 attacked?** It is attacked with local access, in a network appliance.

**Am I affected by CVE-2026-45206?** Check whether you run Trend Micro Apex One Agent, Trend Micro Apex One as a Service Agent or Trend Micro Vision One Endpoint Security - Standard Endpoint Protection (SEP) Agent at an affected version. Junglewise does that check for you around the clock: connect your code, cloud and domains, and it matches new vulnerabilities like this one against what you actually run and tells you when one reaches you.

## Technical details

An origin validation error (CWE-346) exists within the process protection communication mechanism of the Trend Micro Apex One and Vision One SEP agents. The vulnerability stems from insufficient verification of the source of inter-process communications. A local attacker with low-privileged code execution capabilities can exploit this flaw to bypass security checks and escalate their privileges to a higher level, such as SYSTEM. Patches have been released for both on-premise and SaaS versions of the affected products.

## Affected products

- Trend Micro Apex One (on-prem) Agent Builds below 17079
- Trend Micro Apex One as a Service Agent Builds below 14.0.20731
- Trend Micro Vision One Endpoint Security - Standard Endpoint Protection (SEP) Agent Builds below 14.0.20731

## Timeline

- 2026-05-21: disclosed
- 2026-05-21: advisory
- 2026-05-21: patched

## References

- [https://success.trendmicro.com/en-US/solution/KA-0023430](https://success.trendmicro.com/en-US/solution/KA-0023430)

## Related threats

- [Trend Micro Apex One and Vision One SEP TOCTOU privilege escalation](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-45208-trend-micro-apex-one-and-vision-one-sep-toctou-privilege)
- [Trend Micro Apex One and Vision One privilege escalation in Security Agent](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-45207-trend-micro-apex-one-and-vision-one-privilege-escalation-in)
- [Trend Micro Apex One origin validation privilege escalation in IPC](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-34929-trend-micro-apex-one-origin-validation-privilege-escalation-in)
- [Trend Micro Apex One origin validation privilege escalation in agent named pipe](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-34928-trend-micro-apex-one-origin-validation-privilege-escalation-in)
- [Trend Micro Apex One and Vision One SEP origin validation privilege escalation](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-34927-trend-micro-apex-one-and-vision-one-sep-origin-validation)