CVE-2021-21572
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 · uneditedDell BIOSConnect feature contains a buffer overflow vulnerability. An authenticated malicious admin user with local access to the system may potentially exploit this vulnerability to run arbitrary code and bypass UEFI restrictions.
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 BIOSConnect contains a buffer overflow vulnerability that allows an authenticated admin user with local system access to potentially execute arbitrary code and bypass UEFI security restrictions.
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< 1.3.3< 1.4.1< 1.4.1< 1.4.0< 1.3.3<= 1.9.0< 1.9.0< 1.9.0CVSS 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
- Local
- Complexity
- High
- Privileges
- High
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:H/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.
-
Identify your Dell system modelRun `wmic csproduct get name` or check the physical system label to determine the exact model (e.g., Alienware M15 R6, G15 5510, G3 3500)Affected if The model matches one of the affected products listed in the CVE (Alienware M15 R6, Chengming 3990, Chengming 3991, G15 5510, G15 5511, G3 3500, G5 5500, or G7 7500)
-
Check the installed BIOS firmware versionRun `wmic bios get version` or access the BIOS/UEFI setup (press F2 at boot) and navigate to the BIOS Information or Main tab to view the firmware versionAffected if The installed version is lower than the version specified for your model (M15 R6: <1.3.3, Chengming 3990/3991: <1.4.1, G15 5510: <1.4.0, G15 5511: <1.3.3, G3 3500: <=1.9.0, G5 5500: <1.9.0, G7 7500: <1.9.0)
-
Verify BIOSConnect statusOpen Dell SupportAssist or Dell Command | Configure, then navigate to the BIOSConnect or BIOS Update Settings to confirm whether the BIOSConnect feature is enabledAffected if BIOSConnect is enabled on the system, as this is the vulnerable component that permits BIOS updates from the operating system
-
Confirm local admin access existsVerify the account being used has administrative privileges on the Windows system via `net localgroup Administrators` or User Account Control settingsAffected if The user has authenticated admin privileges with local system access, which is required to exploit this vulnerability
You are affected if your Dell system model matches one of the eight listed products, your current BIOS firmware version is below the specified threshold for that model, and BIOSConnect is enabled on the device.
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 data1.3.31.4.01.4.1
Apply Dell BIOS/firmware updates that address this vulnerability. Organizations should inventory affected Dell systems, obtain the appropriate BIOS updates from Dell, and implement a controlled firmware update process with rollback capabilities.
- Consultation6.0 h
- Implementation12.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $7,968.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-21572 — 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-2021-21572 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
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data