Lenovo Security Flaw Could Affect Millions: What to Do Now

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Uninstall this program ASAP

(Image credit: Future)

Owners of older Lenovo laptops need to uninstall the Lenovo Solution Center as soon as possible. 

Security researchers at Pen Test Partners found a critical vulnerability in the Lenovo Solution Center that could hand admin privileges over to hackers or malware.

For its part, Lenovo published a security statement warning users about the bug and urging them to uninstall Solution Center, which the company no longer supports. 

"A vulnerability reported in Lenovo Solution Center version 03.12.003, which is no longer supported, could allow log files to be written to non-standard locations, potentially leading to privilege escalation. Lenovo ended support for Lenovo Solution Center and recommended that customers migrate to Lenovo Vantage or Lenovo Diagnostics in April 2018," reads the statement.

Lenovo didn't specify when it stopped shipping laptops with Solution Center pre-installed, so it's possible that many Lenovo laptops that are less than one year old carry unsupported software with major flaws.

Lenovo has also been accused of covering its tracks. According to Pen Test Partners, after they informed Lenovo of the vulnerability, the computer maker allegedly rolled back Solution Center's end-of-life date by several months to make it seem like the feature was discontinued before the last version was released in November 2018. 

"It’s often the case for applications that reach end of support that we continue to update the applications as we transition to new offerings is to ensure customers that have not transitioned, or choose not to, still have a minimal level of support, a practice that is not uncommon in the industry," Lenovo told The Register when asked about the discrepancy. 

Whether Lenovo is being sly or not, the bottom line is this: if you own a Lenovo laptop manufactured between 2011 and 2018, then absolutely get rid of Lenovo Solution Center as soon as possible. You can do so by following this simple guide on how to uninstall programs on Windows 10. 

Tom's Guide has reached out to Lenovo for comment, and we will update this story when we receive a reply.

This article originally appeared on Laptop Mag. 

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Phillip Tracy

Phillip Tracy is the assistant managing editor at Laptop Mag where he reviews laptops, phones and other gadgets while covering the latest industry news. Previously, he was a Senior Writer at Tom's Guide and has also been a tech reporter at the Daily Dot. There, he wrote reviews for a range of gadgets and covered everything from social media trends to cybersecurity. Prior to that, he wrote for RCR Wireless News covering 5G and IoT. When he's not tinkering with devices, you can find Phillip playing video games, reading, traveling or watching soccer.