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Alienware M15 R5 FirmwareOperating system · Dell

CVE-2022-26864

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-06-23
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 1.2.1 / 1.4.4 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
Prior Dell BIOS versions contain an Input Validation vulnerability. A locally authenticated malicious user could potentially exploit this vulnerability by sending malicious input to an SMI in order to bypass security controls in 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

This is an input validation vulnerability in prior Dell BIOS versions that allows a locally authenticated malicious user to send malicious input to the System Management Interface (SMI), potentially bypassing security controls in System Management Mode (SMM). SMM is a high-privilege CPU mode that operates below the operating system, making this a serious privilege escalation issue.

MitigationUpdate Dell BIOS to the latest vendor-provided version that addresses this vulnerability. Organizations should identify affected systems using Dell's support tools and deploy the BIOS update through their standard firmware management processes, preferably using encrypted update mechanisms.

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 M15 R5 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< 1.5.0
G15 5515 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< 1.6.0
G5 Se 5505 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< 1.11.0
Inspiron 27 7775 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< 2.16.1
Inspiron 14 5425 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< 1.2.1
Inspiron 3275 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< 1.9.0
Inspiron 3475 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< 1.9.0
Inspiron 3180 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< 1.4.4

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. Identify the exact Dell system model
    Run 'dmidecode -s system-product-name' on Linux or check System Information on Windows to confirm the exact model number (e.g., Alienware M15 R5, G15 5515, etc.)
    Affected if The system model matches one of the listed affected products: Alienware M15 R5, G15 5515, G5 Se 5505, Inspiron 27 7775, Inspiron 14 5425, Inspiron 3275, Inspiron 3475, or Inspiron 3180
  2. Determine the current BIOS firmware version
    Run 'dmidecode -s bios-version' on Linux, 'wmic bios get smbiosbiosversion' on Windows, or check the BIOS/UEFI setup screen during boot
    Affected if The installed BIOS version is lower than the threshold for your model (1.5.0 for Alienware M15 R5, 1.6.0 for G15 5515, 1.11.0 for G5 Se 5505, 2.16.1 for Inspiron 27 7775, 1.2.1 for Inspiron 14 5425, 1.9.0 for Inspiron 3275/3475, or 1.4.4 for Inspiron 3180)
  3. Verify the System Management Interface is accessible
    This is a BIOS-level component present on affected systems; confirm the system has SMM capability by checking 'dmidecode' output for SMBIOS or reviewing system specifications
    Affected if The system uses Dell firmware with System Management Interface (SMI) support, which is standard on the listed affected models

A system is affected if it is one of the listed Dell models AND its current BIOS firmware version is below the specified version 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 1.2.1 / 1.4.4 / 1.5.0 or later
Fixed in 1.2.11.4.41.5.0
Interim mitigation

Update Dell BIOS to the latest vendor-provided version that addresses this vulnerability. Organizations should identify affected systems using Dell's support tools and deploy the BIOS update through their standard firmware management processes, preferably using encrypted update mechanisms.

Recommended fix High confidence

BIOS firmware updated to version 1.5.0 (Alienware M15 R5), 1.6.0 (G15 5515), 1.11.0 (G5 Se 5505), 2.16.1 (Inspiron 27 7775), 1.2.1 (Inspiron 14 5425), 1.9.0 (Inspiron 3275/3475), or 1.4.4 (Inspiron 3180) as applicable

  1. Identify the exact Dell system model number (e.g., Alienware M15 R5, G15 5515, etc.)
  2. Navigate to Dell Support website (www.dell.com) and enter the service tag or search for the product model
  3. Locate the 'BIOS' section under Drivers & Downloads
  4. Download the BIOS update file corresponding to the fixed version: Alienware M15 R5 to version 1.5.0 or later; G15 5515 to version 1.6.0 or later; G5 Se 5505 to version 1.11.0 or later; Inspiron 27 7775 to version 2.16.1 or later; Inspiron 14 5425 to version 1.2.1 or later; Inspiron 3275 to version 1.9.0 or later; Inspiron 3475 to version 1.9.0 or later; Inspiron 3180 to version 1.4.4 or later
  5. Ensure the system is connected to AC power and not battery only
  6. Run the downloaded BIOS update executable or extract and run from within Windows/UEFI environment
  7. Follow the on-screen prompts and allow the system to restart for the BIOS flash process
  8. Do not interrupt power or shut down during the BIOS update process
Caveat BIOS updates carry inherent risk if interrupted; ensure stable power and do not interrupt the flashing process

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

Fix this in Alienware M15 R5 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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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-2022-26864 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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