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Ideacentre C5 14mb05 FirmwareOperating system · Lenovo

CVE-2021-3519

MEDIUM · 6.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-11-12
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
73/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
No privileges Zero-click

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 · unedited
A vulnerability was reported in some Lenovo Desktop models that could allow unauthorized access to the boot menu, when the "BIOS Password At Boot Device List" BIOS setting is Yes.

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 confidence

A security bypass vulnerability exists in certain Lenovo Desktop BIOS implementations where the 'BIOS Password At Boot Device List' setting fails to properly protect the boot menu. When this setting is configured to Yes (intended to require BIOS password for accessing boot device selection), an unauthorized user can still access the boot device list without authentication, defeating the purpose of the BIOS password protection.

MitigationIf a Lenovo firmware update is available for affected models, apply it. As an interim control, ensure physical security of affected systems and consider additional authentication mechanisms or disabling boot from removable media at the OS 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 data
Ideacentre C5 14mb05 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< o4hkt33a
Ideacentre 3 07imb05 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< m2vkt18a
Ideacentre 5 14imb05 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< o4hkt33a
Ideacentre 5 14iob6 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< m3gkt29a
Ideacentre Creator 5 14iob6 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< m3gkt29a
Ideacentre G5 14imb05 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< o4hkt33a
Ideacentre Gaming 5 14iob6 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< m3gkt29a
Thinkcentre M60e Tiny FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< m3skt1ea

CVSS 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
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:P/AC:L/PR:N/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify your Lenovo desktop model
    Check the system label on the case or run 'systeminfo' in Windows or check /sys/class/dmi/id/product_name in Linux
    Affected if Model is one of: Ideacentre C5 14mb05, Ideacentre 3 07imb05, Ideacentre 5 14imb05, Ideacentre 5 14iob6, Ideacentre Creator 5 14iob6, Ideacentre G5 14imb05, Ideacentre Gaming 5 14iob6, or Thinkcentre M60e Tiny
  2. Check the current BIOS firmware version
    Enter BIOS setup (press F1 or Delete at boot), look for BIOS Version in the Main or Information tab, or run 'wmic bios get smbiosbiosversion' in Windows or 'dmidecode -s bios-version' in Linux
    Affected if Firmware version is below: o4hkt33a (for 14mb05/14imb05 models), m2vkt18a (for 07imb05), m3gkt29a (for 14iob6 models), or m3skt1ea (for M60e Tiny)
  3. Access the BIOS Security or Password settings
    Reboot and enter BIOS setup (F1 or Delete), navigate to Security or Password configuration section
    Affected if You can access BIOS settings without authentication - this confirms the bypass is present
  4. Locate the 'BIOS Password At Boot Device List' setting
    In BIOS setup, find Security > Password or Boot menu settings and look for 'BIOS Password At Boot Device List' or similar option
    Affected if The setting is visible and configurable to Yes or No
  5. Verify the vulnerable configuration
    Check if 'BIOS Password At Boot Device List' is set to 'Yes' - this is the vulnerable state where boot menu protection should be enforced but is bypassed
    Affected if Setting is configured to 'Yes' - the security bypass is in effect and the boot device list can be accessed without password

You are affected if you run an affected Ideacentre or Thinkcentre model with firmware below the specified thresholds AND have 'BIOS Password At Boot Device List' set to 'Yes' in BIOS settings.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

If a Lenovo firmware update is available for affected models, apply it. As an interim control, ensure physical security of affected systems and consider additional authentication mechanisms or disabling boot from removable media at the OS level.

Recommended fix High confidence

o4hkt33a or higher (for 14mb05/14imb05 models), m2vkt18a or higher (for 07imb05), m3gkt29a or higher (for 14iob6 models), m3skt1ea or higher (for Thinkcentre M60e Tiny)

  1. Identify your specific Lenovo model number (e.g., 11QKT2US for Ideacentre C5 14mb05)
  2. Navigate to support.lenovo.com and enter your model number to find the BIOS/firmware download page
  3. Download the latest BIOS update utility for your specific model
  4. Ensure the laptop is connected to AC power and do not interrupt the update process
  5. Run the BIOS update utility and follow the on-screen instructions to flash the new BIOS
  6. After the update completes, restart the system and verify the BIOS version matches or exceeds the fixed release
  7. In BIOS settings, reconfigure the 'BIOS Password At Boot Device List' setting as needed
Caveat BIOS updates may reset BIOS settings to defaults; ensure to note current settings before updating; update may require AC power connection throughout the process

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Ideacentre C5 14mb05 Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,600
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2021-3519 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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