CVE-2021-36324
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 BIOS contains an improper input validation vulnerability. A local authenticated malicious user may potentially exploit this vulnerability by using an SMI to gain arbitrary code execution in SMRAM.
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 is a Dell BIOS firmware vulnerability involving improper input validation that allows a local authenticated attacker to exploit via a System Management Interrupt (SMI) to achieve arbitrary code execution in System Management RAM (SMRAM). SMRAM is a protected memory region used during System Management Mode (SMM), making code execution at this level extremely privileged and difficult to detect.
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< 1.13.0< 1.13.0< 1.14.0< 1.13.0< 1.14.0< 1.15.1< 1.10.0< 1.0.9CVSS 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
- Low
- Privileges
- High
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/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 the exact Dell Alienware system modelCheck the system model via `dmidecode -s system-product-name` on Linux, `wmic computersystem get model` on Windows, or visually inspect the system labelAffected if the model is NOT one of: Alienware 13 R3, 15 R3, 15 R4, 17 R4, 17 R5, Area 51m R1, Area 51m R2, or Aurora R11 (those models are not affected)
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Determine the current BIOS firmware versionRun `dmidecode -s bios-version` on Linux or `wmic bios get version` on Windows, or enter BIOS setup during boot and check the BIOS version displayedAffected if unable to retrieve a BIOS version number from the system
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Compare the installed version against affected thresholdsMatch your model and BIOS version to the following: Alienware 13 R3/15 R3/17 R4: affected if < 1.13.0; 15 R4/17 R5: affected if < 1.14.0; Area 51m R1: affected if < 1.15.1; Area 51m R2: affected if < 1.10.0; Aurora R11: affected if < 1.0.9Affected if the installed BIOS version is lower than the threshold for your specific model
You are affected if you have an Alienware system from the listed models and your BIOS firmware version is below the specified threshold for that model, since the vulnerability exists in those unpatched BIOS versions.
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.
dbcve · scoped1.0.91.10.01.13.0
Apply the Dell BIOS/firmware update released to address this vulnerability. Organizations should identify affected Dell systems, test the BIOS update in a controlled environment, and deploy systematically across the fleet.
Upgrade to firmware version 1.13.0 (Alienware 13 R3, 15 R3, 17 R4), 1.14.0 (Alienware 15 R4, 17 R5), 1.15.1 (Alienware Area 51m R1), 1.10.0 (Alienware Area 51m R2), or 1.0.9 (Alienware Aurora R11) as applicable to your specific model
- Identify the exact Alienware model number from the affected product list (13 R3, 15 R3, 15 R4, 17 R4, 17 R5, Area 51m R1, Area 51m R2, or Aurora R11)
- Navigate to Dell's support website (dell.com) and enter the Service Tag or product model to find drivers and downloads
- Locate the BIOS update for the specific machine
- Download the BIOS update file from Dell's official support page
- Connect the system to AC power and ensure the laptop battery is sufficiently charged (>30%)
- Backup all important data as a precautionary measure before applying firmware updates
- Run the downloaded BIOS update executable or follow Dell's instructions to create a USB bootable update
- Allow the BIOS update to complete without interruption - do not power off or restart during the flashing process
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation8.0 h
- Implementation24.0 h
- Testing12.0 h
- Review / QA8.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-36324 — 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-2021-36324 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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