dbcve.org
Ideapad 3 14ada05 FirmwareOperating system · Lenovo

CVE-2021-3970

MEDIUM · 6.7 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-04-22
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
69/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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 potential vulnerability in LenovoVariable SMI Handler due to insufficient validation in some Lenovo Notebook models BIOS may allow an attacker with local access and elevated privileges to execute arbitrary code.

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

Vulnerability in the LenovoVariable SMI Handler within BIOS firmware on certain Lenovo notebooks due to insufficient input validation. The flaw allows a local attacker with elevated privileges to execute arbitrary code via the System Management Interface (SMI) handler.

MitigationApply Lenovo BIOS/firmware updates for affected notebook models. Verify patch availability through Lenovo's support portal and update BIOS following vendor procedures.

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
Ideapad 3 14ada05 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< e8cn33ww
Ideapad 3 14ada6 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< hbcn21ww
Ideapad 3 14alc6 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< glcn43ww
Ideapad 3 14are05 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< dzcn42ww
Ideapad 3 15ada6 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< hbcn21ww
Ideapad 3 15alc6 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< glcn43ww
Ideapad 3 15are05 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< dzcn42ww
Ideapad 3 15igl05 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< dvcn23ww

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
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
High
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/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 checks

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

  1. Identify your Lenovo Ideapad 3 model number
    Run 'wmic csproduct get name' or check the physical product label on the device. Confirm the model is one of: 14ada05, 14ada6, 14alc6, 14are05, 15ada6, 15alc6, 15are05, or 15igl05.
    Affected if The model matches one of the eight affected Ideapad 3 variants.
  2. Check the installed BIOS firmware version
    Run 'wmic bios get smbiosbiosversion' or access the BIOS/UEFI setup menu (press F2 or Fn+F2 at boot) to view the BIOS version. Compare against the threshold for your specific model.
    Affected if The firmware version is below: e8cn33ww (14ada05), hbcn21ww (14ada6/15ada6), glcn43ww (14alc6/15alc6), dzcn42ww (14are05/15are05), or dvcn23ww (15igl05).
  3. Verify SMI handler accessibility
    The vulnerability resides in the LenovoVariable SMI Handler. From an elevated command prompt, you can check if the System Management Interface is present by reviewing firmware components, but this typically requires advanced firmware analysis tools or Lenovo service diagnostics.
    Affected if The SMI handler exists on the system (standard on consumer Lenovo notebooks) and the firmware version is vulnerable.
  4. Confirm attacker has elevated privileges
    This vulnerability requires the attacker to already have elevated privileges on the system. Run 'whoami /all' or check if you are a member of the Administrators group.
    Affected if The attacker already has elevated/administrative privileges on the affected system.

You are affected if you own an Ideapad 3 model listed above and your BIOS firmware version is lower than the specified threshold for that model.

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

Apply Lenovo BIOS/firmware updates for affected notebook models. Verify patch availability through Lenovo's support portal and update BIOS following vendor procedures.

Recommended fix High confidence

Update to BIOS version e8cn33ww or later for 14ada05; hbcn21ww or later for 14ada6/15ada6; glcn43ww or later for 14alc6/15alc6; dzcn42ww or later for 14are05/15are05; dvcn23ww or later for 15igl05

  1. 1. Identify the exact model number of the Ideapad 3 (e.g., 14ada05, 15alc6, etc.) from the system label or BIOS information
  2. 2. Visit the Lenovo support website (support.lenovo.com) and navigate to the Drivers & Downloads section for your specific model
  3. 3. Select the BIOS category and download the latest BIOS update version that meets or exceeds the fixed version for your model
  4. 4. Create a backup of important data before proceeding with BIOS update
  5. 5. Ensure the laptop is connected to AC power and will not lose power during the update process
  6. 6. Run the BIOS update utility from Windows or use the ISO/USB method for updating from a bootable medium
  7. 7. Follow the on-screen instructions and do not interrupt the update process until completion
  8. 8. Allow the system to restart and verify the BIOS version has been updated in the BIOS setup utility
Caveat BIOS updates carry a risk of system damage if interrupted; ensure stable power and do not interrupt the flashing process

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

Fix this in Ideapad 3 14ada05 Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,420
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,272.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-3970 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2021-3970 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

What this is

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.

What belongs here
  • 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