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Ideacentre C5 14imb05 FirmwareOperating system · Lenovo

CVE-2023-43569

MEDIUM · 6.7 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-11-08
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 buffer overflow was reported in the OemSmi module in some Lenovo Desktop products that may allow a local attacker with 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

A buffer overflow vulnerability exists in the OemSmi (OEM System Management Interrupt) module of the UEFI firmware on certain Lenovo Desktop products. The flaw allows a local attacker who already has elevated privileges to overflow a buffer in the SMI handler and execute arbitrary code with the highest firmware-level privileges.

MitigationApply the Lenovo firmware update for the affected desktop products as released in the Lenovo security advisory. This is a BIOS/UEFI firmware-level patch that must be applied by administrators.

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 14imb05 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< o4hkt3ca
Ideacentre 3 07ada05 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< o4fkt39a
Ideacentre 3 07imb05 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< m2vkt21a
Ideacentre 5 14iab7 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< m42kt46a
Ideacentre 5 14irb8 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< m4ukt36a
Ideacentre 5 14acn6 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Ideacentre T540 15ama G FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Thinkcentre Neo 70t Gen 3 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< m40kt45a

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 the Lenovo desktop model
    Check the system model by looking at the physical product label, running 'systeminfo' on Windows, or 'cat /sys/class/dmi/id/product_name' on Linux
    Affected if The model is one of: Ideacentre C5 14imb05, Ideacentre 3 07ada05, Ideacentre 3 07imb05, Ideacentre 5 14iab7, Ideacentre 5 14irb8, Ideacentre 5 14acn6, Ideacentre T540 15ama G, or Thinkcentre Neo 70t Gen 3
  2. Check the BIOS/UEFI firmware version
    Access the BIOS setup by pressing F1 during boot, or run 'dmidecode -s bios-version' on Linux, or use Lenovo Vantage/联想管家 on Windows to view firmware version
    Affected if The displayed firmware version is below the safe version for your model, or for Ideacentre 5 14acn6 or Ideacentre T540 15ama G, any version indicates exposure
  3. Confirm the OemSmi module is present
    This is a UEFI firmware-level component. The vulnerability exists in the OemSmi (OEM System Management Interrupt) handler within the UEFI firmware. No user-accessible command confirms module presence; the risk is determined by product model and version alone
    Affected if The system runs the vulnerable UEFI firmware version on any of the affected models
  4. Verify system is a desktop form factor
    Confirm this is a desktop (tower or small form factor) rather than a laptop or mobile device by checking the product specifications or physical form
    Affected if The affected products listed are all desktop (Ideacentre Desktop, Thinkcentre) - laptops are not in scope for this CVE

A user is affected if they own any of the eight listed Lenovo desktop models and their current BIOS/UEFI firmware version is below the specified safe version threshold, or if they own the two models (Ideacentre 5 14acn6, Ideacentre T540 15ama G) marked as all versions affected.

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 the Lenovo firmware update for the affected desktop products as released in the Lenovo security advisory. This is a BIOS/UEFI firmware-level patch that must be applied by administrators.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Firmware version o4hkt3ca or later for Ideacentre C5 14imb05; o4fkt39a or later for Ideacentre 3 07ada05; m2vkt21a or later for Ideacentre 3 07imb05; m42kt46a or later for Ideacentre 5 14iab7; m4ukt36a or later for Ideacentre 5 14irb8; m40kt45a or later for Thinkcentre Neo 70t Gen 3; contact Lenovo

  1. 1. Identify the exact model number of the Lenovo desktop system from the product label or system information.
  2. 2. Navigate to support.lenovo.com and use the product name or model number to find the support page.
  3. 3. Locate the Drivers & Software section and filter by BIOS/Firmware category.
  4. 4. Download the latest BIOS/firmware update for the specific model, ensuring the version meets or exceeds the minimum fixed version listed (e.g., o4hkt3ca for Ideacentre C5 14imb05, o4fkt39a for Ideacentre 3 07ada05, m2vkt21a for Ideacentre 3 07imb05, m42kt46a for Ideacentre 5 14iab7, m4ukt36a for Ideacentre 5 14irb8, m40kt45a for Thinkcentre Neo 70t Gen 3).
  5. 5. Review the firmware update release notes to confirm it addresses CVE-2023-43569.
  6. 6. Follow Lenovo's documented firmware update procedure, which typically involves running the update utility from Windows or creating a bootable USB update media.
  7. 7. Restart the system after the firmware update completes to ensure the new firmware is properly applied.
Caveat Firmware updates are typically low-risk but may reset some BIOS settings to defaults; ensure critical settings are documented before updating

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

Fix this in Ideacentre C5 14imb05 Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
7.0 hours of engineering $1,240
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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-2023-43569 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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