HighPublic exploit

Privilege Escalation in Lenovo System Update via Predictable Security Tokens

IdentifiersCVE-2015-2219CWE-330

CVE-2015-2219 is a local privilege escalation vulnerability in Lenovo System Update, formerly ThinkVantage System Update, affecting versions before 5.06.0034. The System Update service uses predictable security tokens to authorize commands sent by local clients. An unprivileged local user can generate or predict a valid token and submit it together with a command to the privileged System Update service over an unspecified named pipe, causing the service to accept and execute the request with elevated privileges. The flaw stems from insufficient unpredictability in the token-based authorization mechanism used to protect privileged service operations.

For your environment

Are you exposed to this one?

Mallory correlates every CVE against your assets, your vendors, and active adversary campaigns. Know which vulnerabilities matter for you, not just which ones are loud.

Start free trial

ANALYST BRIEF

Impact, mitigation & remediation

What it means. What to do now. Patch path, mitigations, and the assume-compromise checklist.

Impact

What an attacker gets, and what they’ve been doing with it.

Successful exploitation allows an unprivileged local user to elevate privileges to LocalSystem. Because commands can be executed in the context of the privileged System Update service, an attacker can obtain full control over the affected host, including the ability to run arbitrary commands with maximum local privileges.

Mitigation

If you can’t patch tonight, do this now.

Apply the vendor-provided update to Lenovo System Update, preferably version 5.07.0013 or later, or the latest supported release. If immediate patching is not possible, reduce exposure by limiting local access to affected systems, restricting the ability of untrusted users to execute software locally, and monitoring for suspicious interactions with the System Update service. No separate vendor workaround is described.

Remediation

Patch, then assume compromise.

Upgrade Lenovo System Update to version 5.07.0013 or later. Although the CVE description identifies versions before 5.06.0034 as affected, the available advisory indicates that the privilege elevation issue was addressed in 5.07.0013. Organizations should deploy the latest stable Lenovo System Update release to ensure the vulnerable token validation and service authorization logic are corrected.

PUBLIC EXPLOITS

Exploits

1 valid exploit after Mallory filtered fakes, detection scripts, and README-only repos.

VALID 1 / 1 TOTALView more in app

lenovo_systemupdate.rbMaturityWeaponizedFrameworkmetasploitVerified exploit

This repository contains a single Metasploit module (lenovo_systemupdate.rb) that exploits a local privilege escalation vulnerability (CVE-2015-2219) in Lenovo System Update on Windows. The exploit leverages a named pipe (\\.\pipe\SUPipeServer) exposed by the SUService, which allows normal users to execute arbitrary commands as SYSTEM if a valid security token is provided. The token is generated by calling a function in the tvsutil.dll library. The module starts the vulnerable service using ConfigService.exe, generates the token, writes a malicious executable payload to a writable directory (default %TEMP%), and instructs the service to execute it as SYSTEM. After exploitation, the service is stopped. The module is operational and provides privilege escalation to SYSTEM. The only file in the repository is a Ruby script designed for use within the Metasploit framework.

Disclosed Apr 12, 2015rubylocal

EXPOSURE SURFACE

Affected products & vendors

Products and vendors Mallory has correlated with this vulnerability. Open in Mallory to drill down to specific CPE configurations and version ranges.

VendorProductType

LenovoSystem Updateapplication

Vendor-confirmed product mapping. Mallory continuously reconciles this list against your asset inventory.

ACTIVITY FEED

Recent activity

2 sources tracked across advisories and community write-ups. News coverage will land here when it surfaces.

2 SOURCESView more in app

No news coverage yet. Advisories and community discussion only.

What this page doesn’t show

The version that knows your environment.

This page is what’s public. Mallory adds the parts that aren’t: which of your assets are affected, which adversaries are exploiting it right now, which detections to deploy, and what to do tonight.

Start free trial

Exposure mapping

Query your assets running an affected version, and investigate the blast radius.

Threat actor evidence

Every observed campaign linking this CVE to a named adversary.

Associated malware

Malware families riding this exploit, with evidence and IOCs.

Detection signatures

YARA, Sigma, Snort, and vendor rules, auto-deployed to your SIEM.

Vendor-by-vendor mapping

Cross-references every affected SKU, including bundled OEM variants.

Social activity