CVE-2019-3717
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedSelect Dell Client Commercial and Consumer platforms contain an Improper Access Vulnerability. An unauthenticated attacker with physical access to the system could potentially bypass intended Secure Boot restrictions to run unsigned and untrusted code on expansion cards installed in the system during platform boot. Refer to https://www.dell.com/support/article/us/en/04/sln317683/dsa-2019-043-dell-client-improper-access-control-vulnerability?lang=en for versions affected by this vulnerability.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceThis vulnerability allows an unauthenticated attacker with physical access to bypass Secure Boot restrictions on affected Dell client systems, enabling unsigned and untrusted code to execute on expansion cards during the platform boot process.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data< 1.5.0< 1.6.0< 1.5.21< 1.9.0< 1.9.0< 1.10.0< 1.3.1< 1.10.0CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Physical
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:P/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify your Dell system modelCheck the system label on the chassis or run `wmic csproduct get name` or check BIOS information screen (press F2 at boot) to confirm the exact model numberAffected if The model is one of: Chengming 3967, Chengming 3977, Chengming 3980, G3 3579, G3 3779, G5 5587, G5 5590, or G7 7588
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Check the current BIOS/firmware versionAccess BIOS setup (F2 at boot) and check the BIOS version on the main page, or use `dmidecode -s bios-version` from Linux, or check Dell SupportAssist for firmware versionAffected if The installed firmware version is below the fixed version for your model (see version ranges in CVE: <1.5.0 for 3967, <1.6.0 for 3977, <1.5.21 for 3980, <1.9.0 for G3 3579/3779, <1.10.0 for G5 5587/G7 7588, <1.3.1 for G5 5590)
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Verify Secure Boot statusEnter BIOS setup (F2 at boot) and navigate to Boot settings or Secure Boot options to confirm if Secure Boot is enabledAffected if Secure Boot is currently enabled on an affected model with vulnerable firmware (the vulnerability allows bypass of these restrictions)
You are affected if your Dell system matches one of the eight listed models AND your current BIOS/firmware version is below the specified threshold for that model.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor data1.3.11.5.01.5.21
Apply the appropriate BIOS/firmware updates from Dell for affected systems as specified in DSA-2019-043. Organizations should identify all vulnerable Dell client platforms and deploy the vendor-supplied patches.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2019-3717 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2019-3717 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.
- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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