Preload DirectoryApplication · Lenovo

CVE-2023-4706

HIGH · 7.8 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 →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
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 privilege escalation vulnerability was reported in Lenovo preloaded devices deployed using Microsoft AutoPilot under a standard user account due to incorrect default privileges.

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 privilege escalation vulnerability exists in Lenovo devices shipped with preloaded images deployed via Microsoft AutoPilot. Under certain configurations, standard user accounts receive incorrect default privileges that allow them to gain elevated (administrative) access to the system, bypassing intended security boundaries.

MitigationReview and correct default privilege assignments on affected Lenovo AutoPilot-deployed devices through proper Windows security configuration, Group Policy adjustments, or Lenovo-supplied updates that address the privilege misconfiguration.

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
Preload DirectoryApplication
Affected:all versions

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
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/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 Lenovo AutoPilot deployment
    Check system information for Lenovo hardware and verify deployment method: run 'systeminfo | findstr /C:"Manufacturer" /C:"Model"' and check if the device was provisioned via Microsoft AutoPilot by reviewing the device's enrollment status in Intune or checking for AutoPilot profile configuration
    Affected if The device is a Lenovo system deployed through Microsoft AutoPilot provisioning
  2. Check current user account type
    Run 'whoami /groups' to list all groups the current user belongs to, or open Settings > Accounts > Other users to view account types
    Affected if The logged-in standard user account shows membership in Administrators or similar elevated groups
  3. Verify standard user privilege escalation capability
    Attempt to perform an administrative action (e.g., run 'net localgroup Administrators' to view admin group members, or try installing software as a standard user)
    Affected if Standard (non-admin) users can add themselves to the Administrators group, modify system settings, or perform other privileged operations
  4. Review local user group memberships
    Open Computer Management > Local Users and Groups > Groups, or run 'net localgroup' to list all groups and their members
    Affected if Standard user accounts are listed as members of the Administrators or Power Users groups

A Lenovo device deployed via AutoPilot is affected if standard user accounts have administrative-level privileges, allowing them to bypass security boundaries and perform administrator-only actions.

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.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Review and correct default privilege assignments on affected Lenovo AutoPilot-deployed devices through proper Windows security configuration, Group Policy adjustments, or Lenovo-supplied updates that address the privilege misconfiguration.

Fix this in Preload Directory Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation6.0 h
  • Implementation12.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
27.0 hours of engineering $4,800
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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-2023-4706 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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
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