CVE-2020-5361
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 support a BIOS password reset capability that is designed to assist authorized customers who forget their passwords. Dell is aware of unauthorized password generation tools that can generate BIOS recovery passwords. The tools, which are not authorized by Dell, can be used by a physically present attacker to reset BIOS passwords and BIOS-managed Hard Disk Drive (HDD) passwords. An unauthenticated attacker with physical access to the system could potentially exploit this vulnerability to bypass security restrictions for BIOS Setup configuration, HDD access and BIOS pre-boot authentication.
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 · moderate confidenceDell Client platforms contain a BIOS password reset feature that can be bypassed using unauthorized password generation tools. A physically present attacker can exploit this to reset BIOS passwords and HDD passwords, bypassing security restrictions for BIOS Setup configuration, HDD access, and pre-boot authentication.
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 dataall versionsCVSS 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
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:P/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/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 Dell client platform with Cpg BiosRun 'dmidecode -s system-manufacturer' and 'dmidecode -s bios-version' or check Dell SupportAssist for system detailsAffected if System is a Dell client platform and uses Cpg Bios firmware (all versions are affected)
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Check for unauthorized BIOS password changesReview BIOS setup logs if available, or compare current BIOS settings against documented baseline configurationAffected if BIOS or HDD passwords have been changed without authorization
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Look for password generation toolsSearch system for suspicious executables related to BIOS/HDD password tools: check common locations like /tmp, user home directories, and TEMP folder for files with names like 'bios-pw', 'dell-bios-password', 'pwdgen', or similarAffected if Unauthorized password generation or reset tools are found on the system
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Review system logs for password reset attemptsCheck Windows Event Viewer (Security and System logs) or Linux logs (/var/log/) for event IDs or entries indicating BIOS/HDD password reset operationsAffected if Logs show password reset or BIOS configuration changes performed without proper authentication
A Dell client platform with Cpg Bios firmware is affected by this vulnerability; detection focuses on identifying evidence of unauthorized password reset tool usage or physical access exploitation rather than version checking since all versions are vulnerable
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 dataRestrict physical access to affected systems and apply Dell BIOS/firmware updates as they become available. Monitor for unauthorized password generation tools.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-5361 — 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-2020-5361 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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- 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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