CVE-2018-12169
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedPlatform sample code firmware in 4th Generation Intel Core Processor, 5th Generation Intel Core Processor, 6th Generation Intel Core Processor, 7th Generation Intel Core Processor and 8th Generation Intel Core Processor contains a logic error which may allow physical attacker to potentially bypass firmware authentication.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · moderate confidenceA logic error in platform sample code firmware in 4th through 8th Generation Intel Core Processors allows a physical attacker to bypass firmware authentication mechanisms.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data= 4000m= 4005u= 4010u= 4010y= 4012y= 4020y= 4025u= 4030u= 4030y= 4100e= 4100m= 4100u= 7y54= 7y57= 4200h= 4200m= 4200u= 4200y= 4202y= 4210h= 4210m= 4210u= 4210y= 4220y= 7y75= 4500u= 4510u= 4550u= 4558u= 4578u= 4600m= 4600u= 4610m= 4610y= 4650u= 4700ec= 8950hkall versionsall versionsall versionsall versionsCVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Physical
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:P/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify CPU modelUse system commands such as 'wmic cpu get name' on Windows or 'lscpu' on Linux to retrieve the processor model name and SKU numberAffected if The CPU SKU matches any of these: 4000m, 4005u, 4010u, 4010y, 4012y, 4020y, 4025u, 4030u, 4030y, 4100e, 4100m, 4100u (i3); 7y54, 7y57, 4200h, 4200m, 4200u, 4200y, 4202y, 4210h, 4210m, 4210u, 4210y, 4220y (i5); 7y75, 4500u, 4510u, 4550u, 4558u, 4578u, 4600m, 4600u, 4610m, 4610y, 4650u, 4700ec (i7); 8
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Identify Thinkpad system modelUse system information tools such as 'systeminfo' on Windows, 'dmidecode -s system-product-name' on Linux, or check the physical laptop label to determine the model numberAffected if The system is a Lenovo Thinkpad 11e, Thinkpad E480, Thinkpad E580, or Thinkpad L380 (any version)
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Verify processor generationConfirm the CPU is from 4th through 8th Generation Intel Core based on the model name (for example, Core i5-4200M is 4th gen, Core i7-8950HK is 8th gen)Affected if The processor belongs to 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, or 8th Generation Intel Core family and matches the SKU list in step 1
You are affected if your processor SKU matches any of the listed affected Intel Core i3/i5/i7/i9 SKUs, or if your Lenovo Thinkpad is model 11e, E480, E580, or L380 (any version), as these contain the vulnerable platform sample code firmware.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor dataApply Intel-provided BIOS/UEFI firmware updates released by system manufacturers to address the logic error in the platform sample code firmware.
- Consultation8.0 h
- Implementation16.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $10,240.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-12169 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2018-12169 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.
- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data