dbcve.org
Alienware 13 R3 FirmwareOperating system · Dell

CVE-2021-36325

MEDIUM · 6.7 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-11-12
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 1.0.9 / 1.10.0 or later.
See remediation →
69/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Zero-click

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 · unedited
Dell 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 · moderate confidence

Dell BIOS contains an improper input validation vulnerability that allows a local authenticated attacker to exploit via System Management Interrupt (SMI) to achieve arbitrary code execution in SMRAM (System Management RAM). This provides code execution at the highest privilege level (SMM), bypassing OS-level security controls.

MitigationApply the Dell BIOS/firmware update provided by Dell to address this vulnerability. Verify the update through Dell's support portal for your specific system model.

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
Alienware 13 R3 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< 1.13.0
Alienware 15 R3 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< 1.13.0
Alienware 15 R4 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< 1.14.0
Alienware 17 R4 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< 1.13.0
Alienware 17 R5 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< 1.14.0
Alienware Area 51m R1 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< 1.15.1
Alienware Area 51m R2 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< 1.10.0
Alienware Aurora R11 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< 1.0.9

CVSS 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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify the exact Dell Alienware system model
    Run `dmidecode -s system-product-name` on Linux, or check System Information on Windows to confirm the exact model (e.g., Alienware 13 R3, Alienware 15 R3, etc.)
    Affected if The model is not one of the listed affected Alienware models (13 R3, 15 R3, 15 R4, 17 R4, 17 R5, Area 51m R1, Area 51m R2, Aurora R11)
  2. Check the installed BIOS firmware version
    Run `dmidecode -s bios-version` on Linux, or check the BIOS version in Windows System Information under 'BIOS Version', or use Dell SupportAssist/Command Configure to retrieve the firmware version
    Affected if Unable to retrieve a firmware version - the check cannot be completed
  3. Compare firmware version against vulnerability threshold
    For your identified model, compare the installed version to: Alienware 13 R3/15 R3/17 R4: <1.13.0; Alienware 15 R4/17 R5: <1.14.0; Area 51m R1: <1.15.1; Area 51m R2: <1.10.0; Aurora R11: <1.0.9
    Affected if The installed firmware version number is lower than the threshold for your specific model (e.g., 1.12.0 on Alienware 15 R3 is vulnerable, 1.13.0 or higher is not)

The system is affected if it is one of the listed Dell Alienware models AND the installed BIOS firmware version is below the specified threshold for that model.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 1.0.9 / 1.10.0 / 1.13.0 or later
Fixed in 1.0.91.10.01.13.0
Interim mitigation

Apply the Dell BIOS/firmware update provided by Dell to address this vulnerability. Verify the update through Dell's support portal for your specific system model.

Recommended fix High confidence

BIOS 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) depending on model

  1. Identify the exact Alienware or Dell Aurora model number and current BIOS version
  2. Navigate to Dell's support website (www.dell.com) and enter the Service Tag or model number to find BIOS updates
  3. Download the BIOS update file corresponding to the fixed version (1.13.0, 1.14.0, 1.15.1, 1.10.0, or 1.0.9 as applicable)
  4. Run the BIOS update executable or use Dell Update utility to apply the firmware update
  5. Follow on-screen instructions to complete the update, which will require a system reboot
Caveat BIOS updates carry inherent risk of system incompatibility; ensure stable power during update process

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Alienware 13 R3 Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,200
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2021-36325 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

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.

What belongs here
  • 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