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Ideacentre C5 14imb05 FirmwareOperating system · Lenovo

CVE-2023-43576

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 WMISwSmi 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 · high confidence

A buffer overflow vulnerability exists in the WMISwSmi (WMI Software SMI) module of certain Lenovo Desktop products. A local attacker who already possesses elevated privileges can exploit this buffer overflow to execute arbitrary code on the affected system.

MitigationApply the vendor-provided firmware/software update from Lenovo that addresses this vulnerability. Prioritize patching systems with direct network exposure and ensure proper backup before applying updates.

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 your Lenovo desktop model
    Run 'wmic computersystem get model' or check the system information (msinfo32) to determine the exact model number (e.g., Ideacentre C5 14imb05, Thinkcentre Neo 70t Gen 3)
    Affected if The model matches one of the affected products listed in the CVE advisory
  2. Check the installed firmware version
    Access BIOS/UEFI setup during boot, use Lenovo Vantage/Legacy Update software, or run 'wmic bios get version' to retrieve the current firmware version string
    Affected if The firmware version is below the specified threshold (e.g., less than o4hkt3ca for Ideacentre C5 14imb05, less than m40kt45a for Thinkcentre Neo 70t Gen 3) or if the product lists 'all versions' as affected
  3. Verify the WMISwSmi module is present
    Check for the WMISwSmi WMI provider by querying WMI: run 'powershell Get-WmiObject -Namespace root\wmi -Class MSWmi_SMI' or check for WMISwSmi-related DLLs in the system32 directory
    Affected if The WMISwSmi WMI provider is installed and accessible on the system (this module must exist for the vulnerability to be exploitable)

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 vendor-provided firmware/software update from Lenovo that addresses this vulnerability. Prioritize patching systems with direct network exposure and ensure proper backup before applying updates.

Recommended fix High 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; latest availabl

  1. 1. Identify the exact Lenovo product model and model number from the affected products list (C5 14imb05, 3 07ada05, 3 07imb05, 5 14iab7, 5 14irb8, 5 14acn6, T540 15ama G, or Neo 70t Gen 3)
  2. 2. Navigate to Lenovo Support (support.lenovo.com) and enter the product model number to access the drivers and firmware download page
  3. 3. Locate the BIOS/UEFI firmware update in the driver downloads section
  4. 4. Download the firmware update file for your specific product
  5. 5. Follow Lenovo's instructions to apply the firmware update (typically requires running the downloaded executable or using Lenovo Vantage/System Update tools
  6. 6. Restart the system after the firmware update completes
Caveat Firmware updates carry inherent risk; ensure power is stable during update process and do not interrupt the flashing procedure

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

Fix this in Ideacentre C5 14imb05 Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,490
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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-2023-43576 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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