# CVE-2016-8223: Privilege escalation in All ThinkPad, ThinkCentre, ThinkStation and Lenovo-branded systems preloaded with the Windows 10 operating system, or any system running Lenovo Companion, Lenovo Settings, or Lenovo ID.

> Local attackers can execute arbitrary code with administrator privileges via the Lenovo System Interface Foundation software on Windows systems.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 29 Nov 2016
- **Updated:** 6 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-7jpr-wgvj-gfgp

## What is CVE-2016-8223?

CVE-2016-8223 is a high-severity vulnerability in All ThinkPad, ThinkCentre, ThinkStation and Lenovo-branded systems preloaded with the Windows 10 operating system, or any system running Lenovo Companion, Lenovo Settings, or Lenovo ID., published on 29 Nov 2016. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

During an internal security review, Lenovo identified a local privilege escalation vulnerability in Lenovo System Interface Foundation software installed on some Windows 10 PCs where a user with local privileges could run arbitrary code with administrator level privileges.

Weakness: CWE-284 (Improper Access Control)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2016-8223?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Lenovo System Interface Foundation.

## How do I fix CVE-2016-8223?

No fix has been published for CVE-2016-8223 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2016-8223 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2016-8223 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in All ThinkPad, ThinkCentre, ThinkStation and Lenovo-branded systems preloaded with the Windows 10 operating system, or any system running Lenovo Companion, Lenovo Settings, or Lenovo ID.

- [CVE-2019-6186](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-6186/): Privilege escalation in Lenovo System Interface Foundation (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2021-3922](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-3922/): Race condition in IMController (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2021-3969](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-3969/): Race condition in IMController (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2019-6189](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-6189/): Other in Lenovo System Interface Foundation (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2020-8318](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-8318/): Privilege escalation in LenovoSystemUpdatePlugin for Lenovo System Interface Foundation (high 7.3)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2016-8223 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2016-8223 is a high-severity vulnerability in All ThinkPad, ThinkCentre, ThinkStation and Lenovo-branded systems preloaded with the Windows 10 operating system, or any system running Lenovo Companion, Lenovo Settings, or Lenovo ID., published on 29 Nov 2016. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2016-8223 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: All ThinkPad, ThinkCentre, ThinkStation and Lenovo-branded systems preloaded with the Windows 10 operating system, or any system running Lenovo Companion, Lenovo Settings, or Lenovo ID.. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-8223/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-8223/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2016-8223
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-8223
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2016-8223

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-8223/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.