SYSTEM code execution via privileged command prompt
Published Apr 22, 2022 · Updated Jun 2, 2026
Privilege escalation in Lenovo System Update allows local users to execute code as SYSTEM during installation of affected update packages. The package installer exposes a cmd.exe window at SYSTEM integrity, and its GUI context menu permits a medium-integrity user to cross into that privileged context. Exploitation requires interactive access during installation of a pre-2022-02-25 package that displays the command window.
Summary
What happened
Privilege escalation in Lenovo System Update allows local users to execute code as SYSTEM during installation of affected update packages. The package installer exposes a cmd.exe window at SYSTEM integrity, and its GUI context menu permits a medium-integrity user to cross into that privileged context. Exploitation requires interactive access during installation of a pre-2022-02-25 package that displays the command window.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2022-0354
- Published
- Apr 22, 2022
- Updated
- Jun 2, 2026
- Vendor
- Lenovo
- Product
- Lenovo System Update
- Classifications
- CWE-317, T1068
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Apr 22, 2022CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Jun 2, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
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- Affected versionversion=various
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
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.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
- CVE-2022-0354 local privilege-escalation demonstrationfunctional · demonstrated
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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