CVE-2021-3922

Privileged process interaction via named pipe race

Published May 18, 2022 · Updated Aug 3, 2024

Race condition in Lenovo IMController before 1.1.20.3 allows local users to send commands to a privileged child process through its named pipe. The child creates a pipe writable by Everyone, accepts the first connection without validating its source, and parses XML commands from that client. An unprivileged local user can reliably beat the parent service to the pipe; attaining SYSTEM execution requires chaining the separate plugin-load flaw.

CVSS severity7.8
High
EPSS probability1.93%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Race condition in Lenovo IMController before 1.1.20.3 allows local users to send commands to a privileged child process through its named pipe. The child creates a pipe writable by Everyone, accepts the first connection without validating its source, and parses XML commands from that client. An unprivileged local user can reliably beat the parent service to the pipe; attaining SYSTEM execution requires chaining the separate plugin-load flaw.

The record

CVE
CVE-2021-3922
Published
May 18, 2022
Updated
Aug 3, 2024
Vendor
Lenovo
Product
Lenovo IMController
Classifications
CWE-362, CWE-367, T1068
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. May 18, 2022CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 3, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=unspecified <1.1.20.3

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Lenovo · Lenovo IMControllerversion=unspecified <1.1.20.3

Published CVSS scores

7.0NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
7.8Lenovo Group Ltd.CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
4.4NIST NVDAV:L/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

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No observations available

Sep 9, 2026Sep 15, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 15, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-362Concurrent Execution using Shared Resource with Improper Synchronization ('Race Condition')
CWE-367Time-of-check Time-of-use (TOCTOU) Race Condition
T1068Exploitation for Privilege Escalation

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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