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Ideacentre C5 14imb05 FirmwareOperating system · Lenovo

CVE-2023-43573

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 LEMALLDriversConnectedEventHook 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 in the LEMALLDriversConnectedEventHook module in Lenovo Desktop products allows a local attacker with elevated privileges to execute arbitrary code via heap or stack overflow. The CVSS 6.7 score indicates moderate severity with local attack vector and high confidentiality/availability impact potential.

MitigationApply Lenovo-supplied firmware updates or patches for affected Desktop products to remediate the buffer overflow in LEMALLDriversConnectedEventHook. Prioritize systems with elevated-privilege user access.

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 system model
    Check the system model number via system information utility, BIOS setup (F1 at boot), or command: 'wmic computersystem get model' or 'systeminfo' in Windows. For firmware version, access UEFI/BIOS setup (F1 at boot) or use Lenovo Vantage/Commercial Vantage tool.
    Affected if The system 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. Locate the current firmware version
    Access the UEFI/BIOS setup (press F1 at boot) and note the BIOS/firmware version shown on the main screen. Alternatively, use Lenovo Vantage or Commercial Vantage software under 'System Update' or 'BIOS Update' section, or run: 'wmic bios get smbiosbiosversion' in Windows.
    Affected if The displayed firmware version cannot be determined or is not visible in the system information.
  3. Compare firmware version against affected ranges for Ideacentre C5 14imb05
    If system model is Ideacentre C5 14imb05, compare the installed firmware version string to 'o4hkt3ca'. Versions lower than o4hkt3ca are affected (e.g., o4hkt3cb is NOT affected).
    Affected if Installed firmware version is lexicographically less than o4hkt3ca.
  4. Compare firmware version against affected ranges for Ideacentre 3 models
    If system model is Ideacentre 3 07ada05, compare to 'o4fkt39a'. If model is Ideacentre 3 07imb05, compare to 'm2vkt21a. Versions lower than these thresholds are affected.
    Affected if For 07ada05: version < o4fkt39a. For 07imb05: version < m2vkt21a.
  5. Compare firmware version against affected ranges for Ideacentre 5 and Thinkcentre models
    For Ideacentre 5 14iab7, compare to 'm42kt46a'. For 14irb8, compare to 'm4ukt36a'. For Thinkcentre Neo 70t Gen 3, compare to 'm40kt45a'. Versions lower than these are affected. Ideacentre 5 14acn6 and Ideacentre T540 15ama G are affected in ALL versions.
    Affected if 14iab7: version < m42kt46a; 14irb8: version < m4ukt36a; Neo 70t Gen 3: version < m40kt45a; or model is Ideacentre 5 14acn6 / Ideacentre T540 15ama G (all versions affected).

A user is affected if their Lenovo Desktop matches an affected model AND their installed firmware version is lower than the specified threshold (or is any version for the models with 'all versions' listed).

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-supplied firmware updates or patches for affected Desktop products to remediate the buffer overflow in LEMALLDriversConnectedEventHook. Prioritize systems with elevated-privilege user access.

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. Identify the exact model number of the Lenovo desktop system from the affected product list
  2. Navigate to support.lenovo.com and use the product search or model number to find the firmware download page
  3. Locate the BIOS/UEFI firmware update for the specific model
  4. Download and apply the firmware update matching or exceeding the fixed version threshold: o4hkt3ca (C5 14imb05), o4fkt39a (3 07ada05), m2vkt21a (3 07imb05), m42kt46a (5 14iab7), m4ukt36a (5 14irb8), m40kt45a (Neo 70t Gen 3)
  5. For Ideacentre 5 14acn6 and Ideacentre T540 15ama G (all versions), contact Lenovo support directly to verify if a patched firmware is available
  6. Restart the system after applying the firmware update to complete the remediation
Caveat Firmware updates carry inherent risk; ensure power is stable during update process and do not interrupt the update; back up critical data before proceeding

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
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,720
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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-2023-43573 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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