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Ideacentre C5 14imb05 FirmwareOperating system · Lenovo

CVE-2023-43579

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 SmuV11Dxe driver 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 SmuV11Dxe UEFI driver on certain Lenovo Desktop systems. An attacker with already elevated local privileges can exploit this flaw to execute arbitrary code, potentially achieving code execution within the firmware/UEFI runtime environment.

MitigationApply the Lenovo firmware/BIOS update for the SmuV11Dxe driver to the affected Desktop products. Since the attacker requires elevated privileges, ensure least-privilege principles and monitor for unauthorized firmware modifications.

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 system model
    Run 'systeminfo' or check the physical product label to confirm the exact model (e.g., Ideacentre C5 14imb05, Thinkcentre Neo 70t Gen 3)
    Affected if The model matches one of the listed affected products
  2. Check your current firmware version
    Enter BIOS setup (press F1 or Del on boot), or use 'wmic bios get smbiosbiosversion' from an elevated command prompt, or check Lenovo Vantage/Legacy Update utility
    Affected if The firmware version is below the threshold for your model or listed as 'all versions'
  3. Verify the SmuV11Dxe driver presence
    This requires UEFI firmware analysis tools (like UEFI Tool) or checking the BIOS update package contents for the SmuV11Dxe driver file
    Affected if The SmuV11Dxe driver is present in your current firmware image (driver is embedded in the UEFI image)
  4. Confirm your system is a desktop form factor
    Verify the system is an Ideacentre desktop or Thinkcentre Neo desktop, not a laptop or server
    Affected if The affected product list specifies Ideacentre desktops and Thinkcentre Neo 70t Gen 3 only

You are affected if your system model matches one of the eight listed products AND your firmware version is below the specified threshold (or 'all versions' applies for your model).

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/BIOS update for the SmuV11Dxe driver to the affected Desktop products. Since the attacker requires elevated privileges, ensure least-privilege principles and monitor for unauthorized firmware modifications.

Recommended fix High confidence

Firmware updates to versions: o4hkt3ca, o4fkt39a, m2vkt21a, m42kt46a, m4ukt36a, m40kt45a (or later) depending on model; latest available firmware for Ideacentre 5 14acn6 and Ideacentre T540 15ama G

  1. 1. Identify the exact model number of the Lenovo desktop from the affected product list
  2. 2. Visit the Lenovo support website (support.lenovo.com) and navigate to the drivers and downloads section for your specific model
  3. 3. Locate the BIOS/firmware update for your model
  4. 4. Download the firmware version that matches or exceeds the fixed version for your product: Ideacentre C5 14imb05: o4hkt3ca, Ideacentre 3 07ada05: o4fkt39a, Ideacentre 3 07imb05: m2vkt21a, Ideacentre 5 14iab7: m42kt46a, Ideacentre 5 14irb8: m4ukt36a, Thinkcentre Neo 70t Gen 3: m40kt45a
  5. 5. For Ideacentre 5 14acn6 and Ideacentre T540 15ama G (all versions affected), download the latest available firmware from Lenovo support
  6. 6. Follow Lenovo's firmware update instructions, typically running the executable while the system is connected to AC power and not interrupting the update process
  7. 7. Restart the system after the firmware update completes
Caveat Firmware updates carry inherent risk of system instability if interrupted; ensure stable power during update process

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

Fix this in Ideacentre C5 14imb05 Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,200
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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-2023-43579 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