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Alienware 13 R3 FirmwareOperating system · Dell

CVE-2022-24419

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-03-11
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 1.0.20 / 1.13.0 or later.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
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 during SMM.

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 confidence

Dell BIOS contains an improper input validation vulnerability that allows a local authenticated user to exploit via System Management Interrupts (SMI) to achieve arbitrary code execution in System Management Mode (SMM), a highly privileged CPU mode running below the operating system.

MitigationApply the Dell BIOS/firmware update provided by Dell for affected systems. Since this is a firmware-level vulnerability with no practical workarounds, immediate patching is critical.

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:< 1.16.1
Alienware 15 R3 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< 1.16.1
Alienware 15 R4 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< 1.17.0
Alienware 17 R4 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< 1.16.1
Alienware 17 R5 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< 1.17.0
Alienware Area 51m R1 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< 1.18.0
Alienware Area 51m R2 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< 1.13.0
Alienware Aurora R8 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< 1.0.20

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
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/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. Confirm your system model
    Check the system model via System Information (Windows: msinfo32, Linux: sudo dmidecode -s system-product-name) or look at the physical machine label
    Affected if The system is NOT one of: Alienware 13 R3, 15 R3, 15 R4, 17 R4, 17 R5, Area 51m R1, Area 51m R2, or Aurora R8
  2. Retrieve the installed BIOS firmware version
    Run 'wmic bios get version' on Windows or 'sudo dmidecode -s bios-version' on Linux. Alternatively, boot into BIOS setup and check the version on the main screen, or use Dell SupportAssist > View Updates > BIOS
    Affected if Unable to retrieve a BIOS version number for comparison
  3. Compare your BIOS version to the affected ranges
    Match your retrieved BIOS version against the threshold for your model: Alienware 13 R3/15 R3/17 R4 = below 1.16.1; 15 R4/17 R5 = below 1.17.0; Area 51m R1 = below 1.18.0; Area 51m R2 = below 1.13.0; Aurora R8 = below 1.0.20
    Affected if The installed version number is lower than the threshold listed for your specific model
  4. Check for pending BIOS updates
    Open Dell SupportAssist or visit dell.com/support, enter your Service Tag, and check if a BIOS update is available under Drivers & Downloads
    Affected if A BIOS update exists but has not been applied to your system

You are affected if your system is an Alienware 13 R3, 15 R3, 15 R4, 17 R4, 17 R5, Area 51m R1, Area 51m R2, or Aurora R8, and the installed BIOS 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 1.0.20 / 1.13.0 / 1.16.1 or later
Fixed in 1.0.201.13.01.16.1
Interim mitigation

Apply the Dell BIOS/firmware update provided by Dell for affected systems. Since this is a firmware-level vulnerability with no practical workarounds, immediate patching is critical.

Recommended fix High confidence

Update BIOS firmware to version 1.16.1 (Alienware 13 R3, 15 R3, 17 R4), 1.17.0 (Alienware 15 R4, 17 R5), 1.18.0 (Alienware Area 51m R1), 1.13.0 (Alienware Area 51m R2), or 1.0.20 (Aurora R8) - depending on specific model

  1. Identify the exact Alienware or Dell system model number (e.g., Alienware 15 R3, Aurora R8)
  2. Navigate to Dell's support website (support.dell.com) or use Dell Support Assist/Update utility
  3. Enter the system Service Tag or model number to locate the correct BIOS update
  4. Download the BIOS update package for the specific model
  5. Extract and run the BIOS update executable, following on-screen instructions
  6. Allow the system to restart and complete the BIOS flash process - do not interrupt this process
  7. Verify the BIOS version has been updated to the fixed release (1.16.1, 1.17.0, 1.18.0, 1.13.0, or 1.0.20 depending on model)
Caveat BIOS updates carry a small risk of system incompatibility; ensure stable power during flash process; some updates may reset BIOS settings to defaults

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

Fix this in Alienware 13 R3 Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,600
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Scan for this in your stack

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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-2022-24419 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