CVE-2019-6183 in Energy Management Driver
Summary
by MITRE
A denial of service vulnerability has been reported in Lenovo Energy Management Driver for Windows 10 versions prior to 15.11.29.7 that could cause systems to experience a blue screen error. Lenovo Energy Management is a client utility. Lenovo XClarity Energy Manager is not affected.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/09/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2019-6183 represents a critical denial of service flaw within the Lenovo Energy Management Driver component for Windows 10 systems. This issue specifically affects versions prior to 15.11.29.7 and manifests through system instability resulting in blue screen errors that fundamentally disrupt normal operational procedures. The Lenovo Energy Management driver serves as a client utility designed to manage power consumption and energy efficiency settings on Lenovo hardware platforms, making this vulnerability particularly concerning for enterprise environments where consistent system availability is paramount. The flaw occurs at the kernel level within the device driver, creating a condition where malicious or accidental input can trigger system crashes that require manual intervention and system reboot cycles.
The technical root cause of this vulnerability lies within improper input validation and memory management practices within the energy management driver code. When the driver processes certain malformed or unexpected input parameters from the operating system or user applications, it fails to properly handle these conditions, leading to memory corruption and subsequent system instability. This type of vulnerability falls under the CWE-121 category of stack-based buffer overflow, though the specific implementation appears to involve heap corruption or improper memory deallocation patterns that result in the system bluescreening rather than a simple application crash. The vulnerability demonstrates poor defensive programming practices where the driver lacks adequate bounds checking and error handling mechanisms that would normally prevent such conditions from escalating to system-wide failures.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability presents significant risks to organizations relying on Lenovo hardware for their computing infrastructure. The blue screen errors can occur during critical business operations, potentially leading to data loss, productivity disruption, and increased support overhead. System administrators may experience unexpected downtime across multiple endpoints, particularly in environments where energy management features are actively utilized for power optimization. The vulnerability's impact extends beyond individual user experience to encompass broader IT service management challenges, as the system instability can interfere with scheduled maintenance windows, automated deployment processes, and routine system updates. Organizations may find themselves in situations where they must temporarily disable energy management features to maintain system stability, thereby negating the intended power efficiency benefits.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2019-6183 should prioritize immediate patch deployment through Lenovo's official update channels, ensuring that all affected systems receive the necessary driver updates to address the underlying memory management flaws. System administrators should implement comprehensive monitoring solutions to detect early signs of system instability that may indicate vulnerability exploitation attempts. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this vulnerability under the T1499 sub-technique of Network Denial of Service, though it operates at a lower system level through driver manipulation rather than network-based attacks. Organizations should also consider implementing endpoint detection and response solutions that can identify anomalous behavior patterns associated with driver manipulation attempts. Additionally, maintaining detailed system baseline configurations and implementing robust backup procedures becomes essential for rapid recovery in case of successful exploitation attempts. The vulnerability underscores the importance of regular driver updates and comprehensive security testing procedures for system management components that operate with elevated privileges.