CVE-2021-4211
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 the SMBIOS event log driver in some Lenovo Desktop, ThinkStation, and ThinkEdge models 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 confidenceA vulnerability exists in the SMI (System Management Interface) callback function within the SMBIOS event log driver on affected Lenovo Desktop, ThinkStation, and ThinkEdge systems. An attacker with local access and already-elevated privileges can exploit this to execute arbitrary code via the SMI callback mechanism.
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
- 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify the system modelCheck the system model via BIOS setup, or run 'systeminfo' on Windows or 'dmidecode -s system-product-name' on LinuxAffected if The model is one of: Lenovo A340 22icb, A340 22ick, A340 24icb, A340 24ick, A540 24icb, A540 27icb, Ideacentre 5 14iob6, or Ideacentre 510s 07icb
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Confirm the SMBIOS event log driver is presentAccess the BIOS/UEFI setup menu and look for SMBIOS event log configuration options under the Event Log sectionAffected if The SMBIOS event log driver and its SMI callback functionality are enabled in the firmware
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Verify local elevated access existsReview local user accounts and privileges on the system to determine if any standard or admin-level local accounts existAffected if Any local user account with elevated privileges is present on the system
If the system is a Lenovo A340, A540, Ideacentre 5, or Ideacentre 510s model from the affected list, it is vulnerable regardless of firmware version since all versions are affected.
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 firmware update for the SMBIOS event log driver when available. Restrict physical and local access to affected systems, and ensure least-privilege principles for local user accounts.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-4211 — 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-2021-4211 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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