A vulnerability due to improper write protection of UEFI variables was reported in the BIOS of some ThinkPad models could allow an attacker with physical or local access and elevated privileges the ability to bypass Secure Boot.
Weakness
During installation, installed file permissions are set to allow anyone to modify those files.
Affected Software
| Name |
Vendor |
Start Version |
End Version |
| Thinkpad_25_firmware |
Lenovo |
* |
1.73 (excluding) |
Potential Mitigations
- Compartmentalize the system to have “safe” areas where trust boundaries can be unambiguously drawn. Do not allow sensitive data to go outside of the trust boundary and always be careful when interfacing with a compartment outside of the safe area.
- Ensure that appropriate compartmentalization is built into the system design, and the compartmentalization allows for and reinforces privilege separation functionality. Architects and designers should rely on the principle of least privilege to decide the appropriate time to use privileges and the time to drop privileges.
References