CVE-2025-8486 is a vulnerability identified in Lenovo PC Manager, a utility software pre-installed or available on Lenovo personal computers. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-250, which involves execution with unnecessary privileges. Specifically, this flaw allows a local authenticated user—meaning someone with legitimate access to the system but without administrative rights—to execute arbitrary code with elevated privileges. This escalation can lead to unauthorized actions that compromise system confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The CVSS 4.0 base score is 8.5, indicating a high severity level. The vector details show that the attack requires local access (AV:L), low attack complexity (AC:L), no attack prerequisites (AT:N), and low privileges (PR:L). No user interaction is needed (UI:N), and the impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability is high (VC:H, VI:H, VA:H). The vulnerability does not involve scope changes or security attribute modifications. No patches have been released yet, and no exploits have been observed in the wild. The vulnerability likely arises from Lenovo PC Manager executing certain components or processes with elevated privileges unnecessarily, which can be abused by a local user to gain higher privileges than intended. This could allow attackers to install malware, alter system configurations, or disrupt system operations.

For European organizations, this vulnerability poses a significant risk, particularly in environments where Lenovo PCs are widely used and PC Manager is installed. The ability for a local authenticated user to escalate privileges can lead to full system compromise, data breaches, and disruption of critical services. Sensitive sectors such as government agencies, financial institutions, healthcare providers, and critical infrastructure operators could face severe consequences if attackers exploit this flaw to gain administrative control. The vulnerability could facilitate lateral movement within networks, persistence, and deployment of ransomware or espionage tools. Given the high impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability, organizations may experience loss of sensitive data, operational downtime, and reputational damage. The lack of patches increases the window of exposure, emphasizing the need for immediate mitigation measures.

1. Restrict local user permissions by enforcing the principle of least privilege and limiting the number of users with authenticated local access. 2. Disable or uninstall Lenovo PC Manager where it is not essential, especially on critical systems. 3. Monitor system logs and use endpoint detection and response (EDR) tools to detect unusual privilege escalation attempts or suspicious process executions related to PC Manager. 4. Implement application whitelisting to prevent unauthorized code execution. 5. Use host-based firewalls and security policies to restrict local access to vulnerable systems. 6. Regularly audit installed software and configurations to identify and remediate unnecessary elevated privilege executions. 7. Stay informed about Lenovo’s security advisories and apply patches immediately once they become available. 8. Conduct user awareness training to reduce the risk of insider threats exploiting local access. 9. Employ network segmentation to limit the impact of a compromised endpoint. 10. Prepare incident response plans specifically addressing privilege escalation scenarios.