# hackers pray for bugs like this

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7xREocmA3g
Recap page: https://rapidrecap.app/video/e7xREocmA3g
Generated: 2026-01-23T17:42:34.535+00:00

---
## Quick Overview

The video analyzes a critical RCE vulnerability (CVE-2025-69258, CVSS 9.8) in Trend Micro Apex Central, which allows an unauthenticated remote attacker to execute arbitrary code as SYSTEM by sending a specially crafted message over TCP port 20001, exploiting an unchecked NULL return value during string processing.

**Key Points:**
- Trend Micro Apex Central RCE vulnerability (CVE-2025-69258) scores 9.8 CVSS, allowing unauthenticated remote code execution as SYSTEM.
- The critical vulnerability exists in the `MsgReceiver.exe` component, which listens on default TCP port 20001.
- The RCE is achieved by sending a message (0x0a8d) that triggers a flawed call to `LoadLibraryEx` using an attacker-controlled DLL path specified via an altered search path.
- A second, lower-severity vulnerability (CVE-2025-69259, CVSS 3.1) is a Denial of Service (DoS) caused by an unchecked NULL return value during string processing of a 'new protocol' message (0x1b5b).
- The presenter notes that while the RCE exploit is complex (requiring setting up an SMB share), the DoS flaw is caused by not checking for NULL return values from `strstr`.
- The presenter briefly promotes ThreatLocker as a zero-trust solution to prevent such attacks and plugs his own Rust programming courses at LowLevelAcademy.

![Screenshot at 00:16: The screen displays the headline from The Hacker News article detailing the Trend Micro Apex Central RCE flaw with a CVSS score of 9.8, which is the central topic of the video's security analysis.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/e7xREocmA3g/00-00-16.jpg)

**Context:** The video discusses critical security vulnerabilities discovered in Trend Micro Apex Central, a web-based centralized management console used for administering and monitoring Trend Micro security products. The presenter focuses heavily on CVE-2025-69258, a Remote Code Execution (RCE) flaw, detailing how an unauthenticated attacker can exploit the flaw to gain SYSTEM-level access, and also briefly covers a related Denial of Service (DoS) vulnerability.

## Detailed Analysis

The video dissects two vulnerabilities found in Trend Micro Apex Central for Windows on-premise versions. The primary issue, CVE-2025-69258, is a critical RCE with a 9.8 CVSS score. This flaw is exploitable via TCP port 20001 by sending message 0x0a8d. This message allows an unauthenticated remote attacker to specify a DLL path using `LOAD_WITH_ALTERED_SEARCH_PATH` in a call to `ds:LoadLibraryExA`, leading to the loading and execution of an attacker-controlled DLL under the SYSTEM security context. The presenter outlines the proof-of-concept (PoC) preparation, which involves setting up a 32-bit DLL and serving it via an unauthenticated SAMBA share. The second vulnerability, CVE-2025-69259, is a low-severity DoS (CVSS 3.1) resulting from an unchecked NULL return value when processing message 0x1b5b, which can lead to a NULL pointer dereference and process crash. The presenter emphasizes that the RCE is particularly dangerous due to execution at SYSTEM level, even though the exploit requires SMB access. The video concludes with self-promotion for the sponsor (ThreatLocker) and the presenter's Rust programming courses on LowLevelAcademy.

### Trend Micro Apex Central Vulnerabilities

- CVE-2025-69258 (RCE, CVSS 9.8) via TCP 20001
- CVE-2025-69259 (DoS, CVSS 3.1) via unchecked NULL return value

### RCE Exploit Details

- Message 0x0a8d triggers `LoadLibraryEx` with `LOAD_WITH_ALTERED_SEARCH_PATH` to load an attacker-controlled DLL under SYSTEM context
- PoC requires setting up an SMB share on an attacker-host

### DoS Vulnerability Details

- Message 0x1b5b triggers a NULL pointer dereference because the return value of `strstr` is not checked, leading to process crash

### Sponsor Promotion

- ThreatLocker is promoted as a Zero Trust platform to prevent ransomware and contain zero-days

### Course Promotion

- The presenter promotes his Rust 101 course and other low-level C programming courses available on LowLevelAcademy, noting the Rust course is currently on sale

![Screenshot at 00:01: Presenter introduces the topic by showing the headline referencing the high-severity RCE flaw in Trend Micro Apex Central.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/e7xREocmA3g/00-00-01.jpg)
![Screenshot at 00:15: The Tenable advisory snippet highlighting CVE-2025-69258, a critical RCE affecting MsgReceiver.exe on TCP port 20001.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/e7xREocmA3g/00-00-15.jpg)
![Screenshot at 02:24: A Windows 11 desktop showing a PowerShell script named "probably-shouldnt-run-this.ps1" before execution to demonstrate a potential attack vector.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/e7xREocmA3g/00-02-24.jpg)
![Screenshot at 02:35: ThreatLocker software blocks the execution of the suspicious PowerShell script with a notification window.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/e7xREocmA3g/00-02-35.jpg)
![Screenshot at 03:37: Assembly code snippet showing the call to ds:LoadLibraryExA which is leveraged to load the attacker-controlled DLL using an altered search path.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/e7xREocmA3g/00-03-37.jpg)