CVE-2021-21573
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 malicious administrator with local physical access to 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.
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Identify your Dell system modelRun 'systeminfo' or check the physical laptop/desktop label to confirm the exact model (e.g., Alienware M15 R6, G15 5510, Chengming 3990)Affected if The system model matches one of the affected products: Alienware M15 R6, Chengming 3990, Chengming 3991, G15 5510, G15 5511, G3 3500, G5 5500, or G7 7500
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Check the installed BIOS/firmware versionRun 'wmic bios get smbiosbiosversion' or access the BIOS setup (press F2 at boot) to view the BIOS version, or use Dell Command Update toolAffected if The firmware version is below the fixed version for your model (Alienware 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/G7 7500: <1.9.0)
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Determine if BIOSConnect is enabledAccess BIOS setup (F2 at boot) and check under 'Connect' or 'BIOS Connect' settings, or check via Dell Command Configure if availableAffected if BIOSConnect feature is enabled in the BIOS configuration
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Verify BIOS admin password protectionCheck in BIOS setup (Security tab) whether an admin BIOS password is set, or if BIOS settings are unprotectedAffected if No BIOS admin password is set, allowing unrestricted access to BIOS settings
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Assess physical access controlsEvaluate whether the system is in a secured location accessible only to trusted administratorsAffected if Systems are physically accessible to untrusted individuals who could obtain administrator credentials
You are affected if your system is one of the listed Dell models, your current BIOS/firmware version is below the fixed version for that model, and BIOSConnect is enabled with insufficient physical access controls.
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. Restrict physical access to systems and limit administrative privileges to trusted personnel only.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-21573 — 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-2021-21573 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data