CVE-2022-32486
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 confidenceDell BIOS contains an improper input validation vulnerability that allows a local authenticated attacker to manipulate System Management Interrupts (SMIs) to achieve arbitrary code execution in System Management RAM (SMRAM). This gives the attacker execution at the highest privilege level (SMM), bypassing all operating system security controls.
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< 2.21.0< 2.25.0CVSS 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
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/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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Check installed Dell BIOS versionRun `dmidecode -s bios-version` on Linux, or `wmic bios get smbiosbiosversion` / `Get-CimInstance Win32_BIOS` on Windows, or check the BIOS setup screen during bootAffected if The displayed version is lower than 2.21.0 or falls between 2.21.0 and 2.24.x (inclusive)
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Identify the specific Dell product lineRun `dmidecode -s system-product-name` on Linux, or `wmic computersystem get model` on Windows, to determine the exact Dell system modelAffected if The product is a Dell system with a BIOS version in the vulnerable range from step 1
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Verify if SMM (System Management Mode) access is possibleThis is implicit in the vulnerability: any Dell system with an affected BIOS version allows the attack if the attacker has local authenticated accessAffected if The system runs a vulnerable BIOS and the attacker can execute code locally with authenticated privileges
A system is affected if it is a Dell system with BIOS version lower than 2.21.0, or between 2.21.0 and 2.24.x, where an attacker with local authenticated access could manipulate SMIs to execute code in SMRAM at the highest privilege level.
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 · scoped2.21.02.25.0
Apply the Dell BIOS security update (refer to Dell Security Advisory DSA-2022-131 or subsequent updates) to vulnerable systems. Restrict physical and local access to systems where possible, as the attacker requires authenticated local access.
BIOS version 2.21.0 or later; 2.25.0 or later (depending on which version branch the affected system is on)
- Locate the specific Dell system model from the affected machine
- Visit dell.com/support and enter the system Service Tag or search for the model
- Navigate to the BIOS/firmware download section
- Download and install BIOS version 2.21.0 or later (for affected versions < 2.21.0), or version 2.25.0 or later (for affected versions < 2.25.0)
- Follow Dell's BIOS update instructions, which typically require rebooting the system and running the BIOS update utility
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- 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-2022-32486 — 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-2022-32486 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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- 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
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