# CVE-2021-3519: Auth bypass in Desktop BIOS

> Attackers can bypass boot menu authentication on Lenovo desktops if a specific BIOS setting is enabled, allowing unauthorized access to boot options.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.4 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:P/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:L/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 12 Nov 2021
- **Updated:** 3 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-jxph-jj63-5vcv

## What is CVE-2021-3519?

CVE-2021-3519 is a medium-severity authentication bypass vulnerability in Lenovo Desktop BIOS, published on 12 Nov 2021. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

A vulnerability was reported in some Lenovo Desktop models that could allow unauthorized access to the boot menu, when the "BIOS Password At Boot Device List" BIOS setting is Yes.

Weakness: CWE-287 (Improper Authentication)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-3519?

It affects 59 products.


Products: Lenovo Ideacentre 3-07imb05 Firmware, Lenovo Ideacentre 310s-08igm Firmware, Lenovo Ideacentre 5-14imb05 Firmware, Lenovo Ideacentre 5-14iob6 Firmware, Lenovo Ideacentre 510a-15arr Firmware, Lenovo Ideacentre 510s-07icb Firmware, Lenovo Ideacentre 510s-07ick Firmware, Lenovo Ideacentre C5-14mb05 Firmware, Lenovo Ideacentre Creator 5-14iob6 Firmware, Lenovo Ideacentre G5-14imb05 Firmware, Lenovo Ideacentre Gaming 5-14iob6 Firmware, Lenovo Thinkcentre E75 T\/S Firmware, Lenovo Thinkcentre M60e Tiny Firmware, Lenovo Thinkcentre M630e Firmware, Lenovo Thinkcentre M70a Firmware, Lenovo Thinkcentre M70a Gen 2 Firmware, Lenovo Thinkcentre M70c Firmware, Lenovo Thinkcentre M70q Firmware, Lenovo Thinkcentre M70s Firmware, Lenovo Thinkcentre M70t Firmware and 39 more.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-3519?

No fix has been published for CVE-2021-3519 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2021-3519 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-3519 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2021-3519 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-3519 is a medium-severity authentication bypass vulnerability in Lenovo Desktop BIOS, published on 12 Nov 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-2021-3519 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Lenovo Desktop 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-2021-3519/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-3519/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-3519
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-3519
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-3519

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-3519/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.