CVE-2017-3740 in Active Protection System
Summary
by MITRE
In Lenovo Active Protection System before 1.82.0.14, an attacker with local privileges could send commands to the system's embedded controller, which could cause a denial of service attack on the system or the ability to alter hardware functionality.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/13/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-3740 affects Lenovo Active Protection System software versions prior to 1.82.0.14, representing a critical security flaw in the system's interaction with embedded controllers. This vulnerability resides within the firmware communication layer that governs how the Active Protection System interacts with the device's embedded controller, creating a potential attack surface for privilege-escalated adversaries. The flaw allows local attackers to inject commands directly into the embedded controller's communication interface, bypassing normal system security controls that would typically prevent such unauthorized interactions with hardware components. This represents a fundamental breakdown in the principle of least privilege and privilege separation within the system architecture.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and access control mechanisms within the Active Protection System's command processing pipeline. When legitimate system processes communicate with the embedded controller, the software fails to properly authenticate or validate incoming commands, creating an opportunity for malicious actors with local access to craft and transmit arbitrary commands. The embedded controller in question likely operates with elevated privileges and direct hardware access, making the vulnerability particularly dangerous as it could enable attackers to manipulate critical system functions such as fan control, power management, thermal regulation, or other hardware-level operations. This type of flaw aligns with CWE-284, which describes improper access control issues, and more specifically CWE-787, representing out-of-bounds writes that could potentially occur during command processing.
The operational impact of CVE-2017-3740 extends beyond simple denial of service conditions to encompass potential hardware manipulation capabilities that could compromise system integrity and availability. An attacker could leverage this vulnerability to cause permanent hardware damage through improper control of system components, trigger unauthorized power state changes, disable critical protective mechanisms, or create persistent system instability that would require hardware-level intervention to resolve. The embedded controller's role in managing system protection functions means that successful exploitation could neutralize the very security features that the Active Protection System is designed to provide, effectively turning the system's defensive mechanisms against itself. This vulnerability could be particularly devastating in enterprise environments where system uptime and hardware reliability are paramount, as it could lead to unexpected system failures, data loss, or compromised security postures that would require extensive forensic analysis and system restoration.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability must address both immediate remediation and long-term architectural improvements to prevent similar issues in the future. The most direct solution involves updating the Active Protection System software to version 1.82.0.14 or later, which includes proper command validation and access control mechanisms that prevent unauthorized communication with the embedded controller. Organizations should implement strict access controls and privilege separation to ensure that only authorized system processes can communicate with embedded controllers, reducing the attack surface available to local adversaries. Network segmentation and monitoring should be enhanced to detect unusual communication patterns between system components and embedded controllers, as these interactions could indicate exploitation attempts. Additionally, system administrators should conduct regular security assessments of embedded controller interfaces and implement secure coding practices that prevent command injection vulnerabilities in firmware components. This vulnerability demonstrates the importance of applying the principle of least privilege to all system components, including embedded controllers, and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1068, which covers local privilege escalation through the exploitation of system vulnerabilities. The remediation process should also include comprehensive testing to ensure that updated firmware maintains all intended functionality while eliminating the security gap that allowed command injection into the embedded controller system.