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Alienware Area 51m R1 FirmwareOperating system · Dell

CVE-2022-32488

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-10-12
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 1.0.16 / 1.0.20 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 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 confidence

Dell BIOS contains an improper input validation vulnerability that allows a local authenticated malicious user to exploit the system via System Management Interrupt (SMI) to achieve arbitrary code execution in SMRAM (System Management RAM). This is a firmware-level flaw affecting BIOS integrity.

MitigationApply the vendor-supplied BIOS/firmware update from Dell to remediate the improper input validation vulnerability. As this is a BIOS-level issue, no user-side workarounds exist; the patch must come from the hardware vendor.

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 Area 51m R1 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< 1.21.0
Alienware Area 51m R2 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< 1.18.0
Alienware Aurora R11 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< 1.0.16
Alienware Aurora R12 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< 1.1.16
Alienware Aurora R13 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< 1.5.0
Alienware Aurora R10 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< 2.3.1
Alienware Aurora R8 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< 1.0.23
Alienware Aurora R9 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. Identify your Dell Alienware model
    Check the system information or physical label on the device to confirm the exact model (e.g., Alienware Area 51m R1, Aurora R11, etc.)
    Affected if The model is one of: Alienware Area 51m R1, Area 51m R2, Aurora R8, Aurora R9, Aurora R10, Aurora R11, Aurora R12, or Aurora R13
  2. Check the current BIOS firmware version
    Access Dell BIOS/UEFI settings on boot (press F2) or use Dell SupportAssist/Command Update utility to view the installed BIOS version, typically displayed in the BIOS main screen or system information
    Affected if Unable to retrieve a BIOS version number for the identified model
  3. Compare the installed version against affected ranges
    For Area 51m R1: compare to 1.21.0 threshold; R2: compare to 1.18.0; Aurora R11: compare to 1.0.16; Aurora R12: compare to 1.1.16; Aurora R13: compare to 1.5.0; Aurora R10: compare to 2.3.1; Aurora R8: compare to 1.0.23; Aurora R9: compare to 1.0.20
    Affected if The installed version number is lower than the threshold specified for that model (e.g., 1.0.15 on an Aurora R11 is vulnerable; 1.0.16 or higher is not)
  4. Verify local authenticated access context
    This vulnerability requires a local authenticated user with the ability to execute code and trigger System Management Mode (SMM) via SMI. Confirm whether untrusted local users have privileged access to the system.
    Affected if Untrusted local users have elevated privileges that could potentially trigger SMIs to exploit the input validation flaw

You are affected if your Alienware model matches one of the listed products AND the installed BIOS firmware version is below the version threshold specified 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 1.0.16 / 1.0.20 / 1.0.23 or later
Fixed in 1.0.161.0.201.0.23
Interim mitigation

Apply the vendor-supplied BIOS/firmware update from Dell to remediate the improper input validation vulnerability. As this is a BIOS-level issue, no user-side workarounds exist; the patch must come from the hardware vendor.

Recommended fix High confidence

Firmware upgrades to versions 1.21.0 (Area 51m R1), 1.18.0 (Area 51m R2), 1.0.23 (Aurora R8), 1.0.20 (Aurora R9), 2.3.1 (Aurora R10), 1.0.16 (Aurora R11), 1.1.16 (Aurora R12), 1.5.0 (Aurora R13)

  1. Identify the exact Alienware system model (Area 51m R1/R2, Aurora R8/R9/R10/R11/R12/R13) from the affected list
  2. Navigate to the Dell support website (www.dell.com) and enter the system Service Tag or product name
  3. Locate the BIOS/Firmware section for the specific system model
  4. Download the firmware update matching the fixed version for the affected model: Area 51m R1 to version 1.21.0, Area 51m R2 to version 1.18.0, Aurora R8 to version 1.0.23, Aurora R9 to version 1.0.20, Aurora R10 to version 2.3.1, Aurora R11 to version 1.0.16, Aurora R12 to version 1.1.16, Aurora R13 to version 1.5.0
  5. Review the firmware update release notes for any prerequisites or warnings
  6. Connect the system to AC power (do not rely on battery) to prevent interruption during the update process
  7. Run the downloaded firmware update executable or use the Dell Update utility
  8. Allow the firmware update to complete without interrupting power - the system will reboot automatically
Caveat Firmware updates carry inherent risks including potential system unresponsiveness if interrupted; ensure stable power and do not interrupt the update process

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

Fix this in Alienware Area 51m R1 Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation16.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
36.0 hours of engineering $6,400
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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-2022-32488 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data