CVE-2025-49218 is a post-authentication SQL injection vulnerability identified in Trend Micro Endpoint Encryption Policy Server version 6.0. The vulnerability arises due to improper sanitization of SQL queries within the Policy Server, allowing an attacker who has already gained the ability to execute low-privileged code on the system to inject malicious SQL commands. This injection can be leveraged to escalate privileges, potentially granting administrative control over the encryption policy server. The vulnerability is categorized under CWE-89 (SQL Injection) and is similar but not identical to CVE-2025-49215, indicating a recurring issue in the product's handling of database queries. The CVSS v3.1 score of 7.7 reflects a high severity, with attack vector local (AV:L), high attack complexity (AC:H), requiring low privileges (PR:L), no user interaction (UI:N), and scope changed (S:C). The impact includes partial confidentiality loss, high integrity compromise, and high availability disruption. No public exploits have been reported yet, but the vulnerability's presence in a critical encryption management component makes it a significant risk. The lack of available patches at the time of publication necessitates immediate risk mitigation through compensating controls.

The vulnerability allows attackers with limited access to escalate privileges on the Trend Micro Endpoint Encryption Policy Server, potentially gaining administrative control over encryption policies. This can lead to unauthorized access to encrypted data, manipulation or disabling of encryption policies, and disruption of endpoint encryption services. The compromise of encryption management undermines data confidentiality and integrity across the organization’s endpoints, increasing the risk of data breaches and regulatory non-compliance. Availability may also be affected if attackers disrupt encryption services or corrupt policy data. Organizations relying on this product for endpoint encryption management face increased risk of lateral movement and privilege escalation within their networks. The impact is particularly severe for sectors handling sensitive or regulated data, such as finance, healthcare, and government.

Until an official patch is released, organizations should implement strict access controls to limit the ability to execute code on systems running the Trend Micro Endpoint Encryption Policy Server. Employ application whitelisting and endpoint protection to prevent unauthorized code execution. Regularly audit and monitor logs for suspicious activity related to the Policy Server. Restrict administrative access to the Policy Server to trusted personnel only and enforce the principle of least privilege. Network segmentation can reduce exposure by isolating the Policy Server from less trusted network segments. Once patches are available, prioritize their deployment. Additionally, conduct thorough security assessments and penetration testing to identify any exploitation attempts. Consider implementing web application firewalls or database activity monitoring to detect and block SQL injection attempts. Maintain up-to-date backups of encryption policies and configurations to enable recovery in case of compromise.