# CVE-2021-3452: Code injection in ThinkPad BIOS

> Local attackers with elevated privileges can execute arbitrary code via a vulnerability in the ThinkPad BIOS system shutdown callback.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.7 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** An administrator
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 16 Jul 2021
- **Updated:** 3 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-8f7w-9jvr-vccr

## What is CVE-2021-3452?

CVE-2021-3452 is a medium-severity code injection vulnerability in Lenovo ThinkPad BIOS, published on 16 Jul 2021. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

A potential vulnerability in the system shutdown SMI callback function in some ThinkPad models may allow an attacker with local access and elevated privileges to execute arbitrary code.

Weakness: CWE-20 (Improper Input Validation)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-3452?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Lenovo Bios.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-3452?

No fix has been published for CVE-2021-3452 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2021-3452 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-3452 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Lenovo ThinkPad BIOS

- [CVE-2016-5247](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-5247/): Security feature bypass in n/a (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2017-3754](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-3754/): Security feature bypass in Lenovo Notebook BIOS (medium 6.7)
- [CVE-2016-8224](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-8224/): Privilege escalation in Lenovo Notebook models 110-14IBR/110-15IBR, B70-80, E31-80, E40-80, E41-80, E51-80, G40-80, G50-80, G50-80 Touch, Ideapad 300-14IBR/300-15IBR, Ideapad 300-14ISK/300-15ISK/300-17ISK, Ideapad 510S-12ISK, K21-80, K41-80, MIIX 710-12IKB , XiaoXin Air 12, YOGA 510-14ISK/510-15ISK, YOGA 710-11IKB, Yoga 710-11ISK, Yoga 900-13ISK, YOGA 900S-12ISK; ThinkServer models ThinkServer TS150, ThinkServer TS450 (medium 4.4)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2021-3452 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-3452 is a medium-severity code injection vulnerability in Lenovo ThinkPad BIOS, published on 16 Jul 2021. 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-2021-3452 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Lenovo ThinkPad BIOS. 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-2021-3452/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-3452/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-3452
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-3452
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-3452

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-3452/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.