Lenovo Issues Patches for ThinkPad Wi-Fi Flaw

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Lenovo has issued a patch for vulnerabilities in Broadcom wireless chips used in more than 20 ThinkPad laptops. Originally, the flaw was thought to only affect iOS devices, Apple TV and Android devices, and Google and Apple patched those back in September.

The company has released a full list of ThinkPad products on its security advisory to tell you whether or not your machine is affected and which driver you should update to. If your machine is affected and there's a numerical link, click through it for the driver download and installation instructions.

So far, the patches are only for Windows 10; the fixes for Windows 8.1. and Windows 7, and for at least two models running Windows 10, are still on the way.

Affected machines include various configurations of the ThinkPad L560, ThinkPad P50S, ThinkPad 10, ThinkPad T460, T460 and T460p , ThinkPad T560, ThinkPad X260 and ThinkPad Yoga 260.

The flaw allows other people on the same Wi-Fi network to hack into your device. even if they know nothing more than your ThinkPad's MAC networking address, which is broadcast when connected.

Lenovo doesn't use Broadcom's chips in its other product lines, such as IdeaPads, so only ThinkPad users need to update.

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Andrew E. Freedman

Andrew is a contributing writer at Laptop Mag. His main focus lies in helpful how-to guides and laptop reviews, including Asus, Microsoft Surface, Samsung Chromebook, and Dell. He has also dabbled in peripherals, including webcams and docking stations. His work has also appeared in Tom's Hardware, Tom's Guide, PCMag, Kotaku, and Complex. He fondly remembers his first computer: a Gateway that still lives in a spare room in his parents' home, albeit without an internet connection. When he’s not writing about tech, you can find him playing video games, checking social media and waiting for the next Marvel movie.