CVE-2025-12046
📋 TL;DR
A DLL hijacking vulnerability in Lenovo App Store and Lenovo Browser allows local authenticated users to execute arbitrary code with elevated privileges by placing malicious DLLs in specific directories. This affects users of these Lenovo applications on Windows systems where the applications run with higher privileges than the user.
💻 Affected Systems
- Lenovo App Store
- Lenovo Browser
⚠️ Manual Verification Required
This CVE does not have specific version information in our database, so automatic vulnerability detection cannot determine if your system is affected.
Why? The CVE database entry doesn't specify which versions are vulnerable (no version ranges provided by the vendor/NVD).
🔒 Custom verification scripts are available for registered users. Sign up free to download automated test scripts.
- Review the CVE details at NVD
- Check vendor security advisories for your specific version
- Test if the vulnerability is exploitable in your environment
- Consider updating to the latest version as a precaution
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Local attacker gains SYSTEM-level privileges, enabling complete system compromise, data theft, persistence installation, and lateral movement.
Likely Case
Local user or malware with basic access escalates privileges to install additional malware, modify system settings, or access protected resources.
If Mitigated
Limited impact if applications run with minimal privileges, DLL search path hardening is implemented, and users have restricted local access.
🎯 Exploit Status
DLL hijacking is a well-known technique; exploitation requires local access and ability to place malicious DLLs in specific directories.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Not specified in reference; check Lenovo advisory for latest versions.
Vendor Advisory: https://iknow.lenovo.com.cn/detail/435004
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Visit Lenovo advisory URL. 2. Download and install latest versions of Lenovo App Store and Lenovo Browser. 3. Restart system to ensure changes take effect.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Remove or Disable Applications
windowsUninstall Lenovo App Store and Lenovo Browser if not needed to eliminate attack surface.
Control Panel > Programs > Uninstall a program
Select Lenovo App Store and Lenovo Browser > Uninstall
Restrict DLL Search Path
windowsUse Group Policy or registry settings to harden DLL search paths for these applications.
Set registry key: HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Image File Execution Options\<appname.exe>\CWDIllegalInDllSearch to 0xFFFFFFFF
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Run applications with least privilege (e.g., as standard user, not admin).
- Implement application whitelisting to prevent execution of unauthorized DLLs.
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check installed versions of Lenovo App Store and Lenovo Browser; if not latest patched versions, assume vulnerable.Check Version:
wmic product where "name like 'Lenovo%'" get name, versionVerify Fix Applied:
Verify applications are updated to latest versions from Lenovo official sources and test DLL hijacking attempts fail.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Windows Event Logs: Process creation from unexpected directories, DLL load failures, privilege escalation attempts.
Network Indicators:
- Not applicable - local exploitation only.
SIEM Query:
EventID=4688 OR EventID=4663 | where ProcessName contains "Lenovo" AND CommandLine contains "dll"