CVE-2020-8345
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 DLL search path vulnerability was reported in the Lenovo HardwareScan Plugin for the Lenovo Vantage hardware scan feature prior to version 1.0.46.11 that could allow escalation of privilege.
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 confidenceA DLL search path vulnerability exists in the Lenovo HardwareScan Plugin for Lenovo Vantage prior to version 1.0.46.11. The application does not properly validate DLL loading paths, allowing an attacker to place a malicious DLL in a search path location that the application will load, resulting in local privilege escalation from low-privileged user to higher system privileges.
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< 1.0.46.11CVSS 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
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/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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Verify Lenovo Vantage or HardwareScan is installedCheck Windows Programs and Features, or search for Lenovo Vantage in Program Files (C:\Program Files\Lenovo\) or check registry at HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall for Lenovo entriesAffected if Lenovo Vantage or HardwareScan plugin is present on the system
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Locate the HardwareScan plugin executable or DLLLook for files named HardwareScan.exe, HardwareScan.dll, or similar in Program Files\Lenovo\ or within the Lenovo Vantage installation directoryAffected if The HardwareScan executable or DLL exists on the system
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Determine the installed version of HardwareScanRight-click the HardwareScan executable or DLL, select Properties, and view the File Version field on the Details tab. Alternatively, use PowerShell: Get-Item 'C:\Program Files\Lenovo\*\HardwareScan.exe' | Select-Object Name, VersionInfoAffected if A version number is found and it is lower than 1.0.46.11
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Confirm the vulnerability conditionCompare the identified version against the affected range: any version below 1.0.46.11 is vulnerableAffected if Installed version is less than 1.0.46.11
The system is affected if Lenovo Vantage HardwareScan Plugin is installed with a version lower than 1.0.46.11, allowing a locally authenticated attacker to place a malicious DLL in a search path and execute it with elevated privileges.
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 data1.0.46.11
Update Lenovo Vantage HardwareScan Plugin to version 1.0.46.11 or later to resolve the DLL search path vulnerability.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-8345 — 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-2020-8345 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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