CVE-2021-3550
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 Lenovo PCManager, prior to version 3.0.500.5102, that could allow privilege escalation.
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 confidenceLenovo PCManager prior to version 3.0.500.5102 contains a DLL search path vulnerability where the application insecurely loads Dynamic Link Libraries (DLLs) from locations that may be writable by unprivileged users. An attacker can place a malicious DLL in the search path, which the application will load with elevated privileges, enabling privilege escalation from standard user to SYSTEM or administrator.
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< 3.0.500.5102CVSS 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
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/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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Check installed Lenovo PCManager versionOpen Programs and Features (appwiz.cpl), find 'Lenovo PCManager', and note the version column. Alternatively, right-click the main executable (typically in C:\Program Files\Lenovo\PCManager\ or C:\Program Files (x86\Lenovo\PCManager\) and view Properties > Details for the FileVersion.Affected if The version listed is below 3.0.500.5102 (e.g., 3.0.500.5000, 3.0.400.x, etc.)
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Identify if PCManager runs with elevated privilegesOpen Task Manager, find the LenovoPCManager.exe process, right-click and select 'Run as administrator' was used initially, or check the process properties in Process Explorer to view the account context (SYSTEM, Administrator, or a standard user).Affected if The process runs under the SYSTEM account or an administrator-level account, which would allow a DLL loaded by the application to execute with elevated privileges.
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Check directory permissions in the PCManager installation folderRight-click the Lenovo PCManager installation folder (commonly C:\Program Files\Lenovo\PCManager\), select Properties > Security, and review the permissions for Users or standard user groups. Verify if 'Write' permission is granted to non-admin users.Affected if Non-privileged users (such as the current standard user account) have Write or Write & Execute permissions on any directory in the DLL search path (the PCManager folder itself or subdirectories), allowing them to place a malicious DLL.
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Review the DLL search path for the applicationUse Process Monitor (from Sysinternals) with a filter for LenovoPCManager.exe and Operation=LoadImage, then run the application to observe which directories it searches for DLLs. Check each directory's permissions.Affected if The application loads DLLs from directories writable by standard users, indicating the DLL search order is vulnerable to hijacking.
A user is affected if Lenovo PCManager is installed with a version below 3.0.500.5102, runs with elevated privileges, and the installation directory or other directories in its DLL search path are writable by non-privileged users.
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 data3.0.500.5102
Update Lenovo PCManager to version 3.0.500.5102 or later, which contains the vendor fix for secure DLL loading. Alternatively, ensure the application runs from protected directories and remove write permissions for non-admin users on directories in the DLL search path.
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- Review / QA1.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-3550 — 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-2021-3550 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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