CVE-2023-43578
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 buffer overflow was reported in the SmiFlash 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 confidenceA buffer overflow vulnerability exists in the SmiFlash (System Management Interface Flash) module in Lenovo Desktop products. A local attacker with elevated privileges can exploit this buffer overflow to execute arbitrary code, potentially gaining deeper system control or persistence.
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< o4hkt3ca< o4fkt39a< m2vkt21a< m42kt46a< m4ukt36aall versionsall versions< m40kt45aCVSS 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.
-
Identify the system modelRun 'systeminfo' or check the device physically for the model name (e.g., Ideacentre C5 14imb05, Thinkcentre Neo 70t Gen 3)Affected if The system model matches one of the listed affected products in the CVE advisory
-
Check the installed BIOS/firmware versionRun 'wmic bios get smbiosbiosversion' or access the BIOS/UEFI setup (press Enter during boot) to view the firmware versionAffected if The installed firmware version falls below the version threshold listed for that product, or if the product lists 'all versions' as affected
-
Compare version against affected rangesFor Ideacentre C5 14imb05: version must be >= o4hkt3ca. For Ideacentre 3 07ada05: >= o4fkt39a. For Ideacentre 3 07imb05: >= m2vkt21a. For Ideacentre 5 14iab7: >= m42kt46a. For Ideacentre 5 14irb8: >= m4ukt36a. For Ideacentre 5 14acn6 and T540 15ama G: all versions affected. For Thinkcentre Neo 70t Gen 3: >= m40kt45aAffected if The installed version is lower than the specified threshold or the product is in the 'all versions' category
You are affected if your Lenovo desktop model matches one of the listed products AND your current firmware version is below the specified threshold (or the product lists all versions as 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 Lenovo firmware updates for affected desktop products when available. Until patches are applied, limit administrative access and monitor for unauthorized privilege escalation attempts.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,984.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-43578 — 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-2023-43578 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
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.
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.
- 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