CVE-2023-25936
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 with administrator privileges may potentially exploit this vulnerability in order to modify a UEFI variable.
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 confidenceDell BIOS contains an improper input validation vulnerability allowing a local authenticated attacker with administrator privileges to modify UEFI variables. This could enable persistent code execution at boot time or bypass of security features like Secure Boot.
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< 1.26.0< 1.22.0< 1.0.20< 1.1.20< 1.12.0< 1.1.0< 1.22.0< 1.23.0CVSS 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
- 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify your Dell Alienware system modelCheck the system model number on the physical device or in BIOS/UEFI setup (typically displayed at boot or in system information)Affected if The system is not one of the following models: Alienware Area 51m R1, Area 51m R2, Aurora R11, Aurora R12, Aurora R13, Aurora R15, M15 R2, or M15 R3 - if so, this CVE does not apply
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Determine the current BIOS firmware versionAccess BIOS/UEFI setup during boot (press F2) or use Dell SupportAssist/Command Update utility to view the installed BIOS versionAffected if Unable to retrieve a firmware version number from the system
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Compare installed version against fixed releasesMatch your firmware version to the affected version ranges: Area 51m R1 < 1.26.0, Area 51m R2 < 1.22.0, Aurora R11 < 1.0.20, Aurora R12 < 1.1.20, Aurora R13 < 1.12.0, Aurora R15 < 1.1.0, M15 R2 < 1.22.0, M15 R3 < 1.23.0Affected if Your installed firmware version is lower than the listed threshold for your specific model
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Verify administrator privileges exist on the systemCheck if the local user account used has administrative/root privileges on the system (via Windows Task Manager, lusrmgr.msc, or Linux /etc/group for admin group)Affected if An attacker with administrator-level access would be required to exploit this vulnerability
You are affected if you own one of the listed Alienware models AND your current BIOS firmware version is below the threshold specified for that model, and an attacker could obtain administrator privileges on the system.
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 · scoped1.0.201.1.01.1.20
Apply Dell BIOS/firmware updates from Dell's support site for affected systems. Limit physical access and administrative privileges to reduce attack surface.
Firmware version >=1.26.0 (Area 51m R1), >=1.22.0 (Area 51m R2), >=1.0.20 (Aurora R11), >=1.1.20 (Aurora R12), >=1.12.0 (Aurora R13), >=1.1.0 (Aurora R15), >=1.22.0 (M15 R2), >=1.23.0 (M15 R3) - depending on model
- 1. Identify the exact Alienware model from the affected list (Area 51m R1/R2, Aurora R11/R12/R13/R15, or M15 R2/R3)
- 2. Visit Dell's official support website (www.dell.com) and navigate to the drivers and downloads section for your specific model
- 3. Locate the BIOS/firmware update utility corresponding to your model
- 4. Download the firmware version equal to or higher than the fixed version for your model: Area 51m R1 requires >=1.26.0, Area 51m R2 requires >=1.22.0, Aurora R11 requires >=1.0.20, Aurora R12 requires >=1.1.20, Aurora R13 requires >=1.12.0, Aurora R15 requires >=1.1.0, M15 R2 requires >=1.22.0, M15 R3 requires >=1.23.0
- 5. Follow Dell's provided instructions to apply the BIOS update, which typically involves running the executable and restarting the system
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-25936 — 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-2023-25936 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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