CVE-2019-6172
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 · uneditedA potential vulnerability in the SMI callback function used in Legacy USB driver using passed parameter without sufficient checking in some Lenovo ThinkPad models may allow arbitrary code execution.
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 · high confidenceThis is a firmware-level vulnerability in the Legacy USB driver's SMI (System Management Interface) callback function. The vulnerability exists because the SMI callback uses passed parameters without sufficient validation, potentially allowing an attacker to achieve arbitrary code execution at the firmware level.
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 dataall versionsall versionsall versionsall versionsall 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
- Local
- Complexity
- High
- Privileges
- High
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/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 your Lenovo system modelRun 'wmic csproduct get name' or check the system label/sticker to confirm the exact model numberAffected if The model matches any of these: Lenovo 510 15ikl, Lenovo 510s 08ikl, Lenovo Ideacentre 300 20ish, Lenovo Ideacentre 300s 11ish, Lenovo Ideacentre 310s 08asr, Lenovo Ideacentre 310s 08igm, Lenovo Ideacentre 510 15icb, or Lenovo Ideacentre 510a 15icb
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Check the current firmware versionAccess the BIOS/UEFI setup (press F1 or Del at boot) and navigate to the 'About' or 'BIOS Version' section, or use Lenovo's Vantage/System Update tool to check the firmware versionAffected if Any firmware version is installed on one of the affected models (all versions are vulnerable)
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Verify Legacy USB support statusAccess the BIOS/UEFI setup and navigate to 'Advanced' or 'USB Configuration' settings. Look for 'Legacy USB Support' or 'Legacy USB' and note whether it is Enabled or DisabledAffected if Legacy USB Support is set to Enabled in the BIOS/UEFI configuration
You are affected if your system is one of the eight listed Lenovo models with any firmware version and Legacy USB support is enabled in BIOS settings.
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 the Lenovo BIOS/firmware update for affected ThinkPad models. This is a firmware-level patch that must be obtained from Lenovo and applied following vendor-specific procedures.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,744.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2019-6172 — 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-2019-6172 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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- 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
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