A symbolic link manipulation vulnerability in Trellix Anti-Malware Engine prior to the January 2024 release allows an authenticated local user to potentially gain an escalation of privileges. This was achieved by adding an entry to the registry under the Trellix ENS registry folder with a symbolic link to files that the user wouldn't normally have permission to. After a scan, the Engine would follow the links and remove the files
This vulnerability carries a HIGH severity rating with a CVSS v3.1 score of 7.1, requiring local system access to exploit with relatively low complexity without requiring user interaction requiring only low-level privileges . The vulnerability impacts integrity (unauthorized modifications), and availability (service disruption) for affected systems. Impacting 2 products from trellix, from microsoft organizations running these solutions should prioritize assessment and patching.
Reported in 2024, this vulnerability emerged during an era marked by increased sophistication in supply chain attacks, cloud infrastructure vulnerabilities, and software-as-a-service (SaaS) security challenges. Security practices during this period emphasized zero-trust architectures, container security, and API protection.
2024-01-09T14:15:46.550
2026-06-17T06:52:59.940
Modified
CVSSv3.1: 7.1 (HIGH)
| Type | Vendor | Product | Version/Range | Vulnerable? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Application | trellix | anti-malware_engine | 6600 | Yes |
| Operating System | microsoft | windows | - | No |
SecUtils normalizes and enriches National Vulnerability Database (NVD) records by standardizing vendor and product identifiers, aggregating vulnerability metadata from both NVD and MITRE sources, and providing structured context for security teams. For trellix's affected products, we extract Common Platform Enumeration (CPE) data, Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) classifications, CVSS severity metrics, and reference data to enable rapid vulnerability prioritization and asset correlation. This record contains no exploit code, proof-of-concept instructions, or attack methodologies—only defensive intelligence necessary for patch management, risk assessment, and security operations.