What is CVE-2021-44023?

CVE-2021-44023 is a high-severity vulnerability in Microsoft Windows, classified under Improper Link Resolution Before File Access. CVSS score: 7.1/10. Published 2021-12-16.

How severe is CVE-2021-44023?

High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 7.1 out of 10.

Vulnerability in Microsoft Windows

CVE-2021-44023

A link following denial-of-service (DoS) vulnerability in the Trend Micro Security (Consumer) 2021 familiy of products could allow an attacker to abuse the PC Health Checkup feature of the product to create symlinks that would allow modification of files which could lead to a denial-of-service.

Published 2021-12-16 · last modified 2026-06-17.

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 7.1 (High). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.004 (32.5th percentile), scored 2026-09-30.

Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 33rd percentile — 32.5% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.004 · newest: 0.004 · change: 0.000

Affected products

Weakness classification (CWE)

CWE-59 — Improper Link Resolution Before File Access

References

helpcenter.trendmicro.com/en-us/article/tmka-10867 (Vendor Advisory)
www.zerodayinitiative.com/advisories/ZDI-21-1536/ (VDB Entry, Third Party Advisory)

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2021-44023?: CVE-2021-44023 is a high-severity vulnerability in Microsoft Windows, classified under Improper Link Resolution Before File Access. CVSS score: 7.1/10. Published 2021-12-16.
How severe is CVE-2021-44023?: High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 7.1 out of 10.