T420s: External Monitor displays flashing Multiple Colors (a la Kanye West video) then shuts down

Has anyone seen this? I've had it happen to several T420s models. While connected to a docking station with the lid closed, the external monitors will just display flashing colors really quickly like in Kanye West's "All of The Lights" music video. Once the display is done, the laptop shuts off. When I first experienced it, it was on my personal laptop. I switched shells and popped my hdd into another one. It ended up happening again sometime down the line. It then happened to my boss' as well. Most recently I've had a colleague report the same issue. Does anyone have an idea as to what could be the issue?

I have the same problem too. I am not using any docking station. It occurs very rarely and I notice it happening when I connect to an external monitor or when in video calls. Happens both in Windows and Ubuntu. I tried switching to a different T420s laptop and I see the same behavior there too (but not as frequently as the other one).
M_Wilson's description of the issue is spot on. The screen flickers colorfully for about 15-20 seconds and then the laptop shuts off completely.
I also noticed sometimes that the laptop gets hot under the part where the display card is present (near the fan outlet vent on the left side). The laptop fan is running at full speed at that time.

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