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Alienware Area 51m R1 FirmwareOperating system · Dell

CVE-2023-28029

MEDIUM · 6.7 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-06-23
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 1.0.20 / 1.1.0 or later.
See remediation →
69/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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 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 confidence

Dell BIOS contains an improper input validation vulnerability allowing a local authenticated user with administrator privileges to modify UEFI variables. This is a firmware-level issue where the BIOS fails to validate input properly before allowing modifications to UEFI variable storage, potentially enabling persistent boot-level modifications.

MitigationApply the Dell BIOS/firmware update provided by Dell for affected systems. Organizations should inventory Dell systems, deploy the vendor patch, and verify UEFI variable integrity post-update.

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:< 1.26.0
Alienware Area 51m R2 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< 1.22.0
Alienware Aurora R11 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< 1.0.20
Alienware Aurora R12 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< 1.1.20
Alienware Aurora R13 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< 1.12.0
Alienware Aurora R15 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< 1.1.0
Alienware M15 R2 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< 1.22.0
Alienware M15 R3 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< 1.23.0

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
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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify the Dell system model
    Run 'systeminfo' or check the system BIOS/System Information screen to confirm the exact model name (e.g., Alienware Area 51m R1, Alienware Aurora R11)
    Affected if The model is one of: Alienware Area 51m R1, Area 51m R2, Aurora R11, Aurora R12, Aurora R13, Aurora R15, M15 R2, or M15 R3
  2. Check the installed BIOS firmware version
    Run 'wmic bios get smbiosbiosversion' or access the BIOS setup screen (press F2 at boot) to view the current BIOS version
    Affected if The installed version is below the threshold for your model: 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 < 1.23.0
  3. Verify UEFI variable storage integrity
    From an elevated command prompt, review UEFI variable entries using 'wmic path win32_computersystem' or use a tool like 'efivar' on Linux to list UEFI variables; compare against known-good baselines if available
    Affected if Unexpected or unauthorized UEFI variables exist, or variables have been modified without documented change control

The system is affected if it is an Alienware model from the affected list AND the current BIOS firmware version is lower than 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 1.0.20 / 1.1.0 / 1.1.20 or later
Fixed in 1.0.201.1.01.1.20
Interim mitigation

Apply the Dell BIOS/firmware update provided by Dell for affected systems. Organizations should inventory Dell systems, deploy the vendor patch, and verify UEFI variable integrity post-update.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Firmware version 1.26.0 (Area 51m R1), 1.22.0 (Area 51m R2/M15 R2), 1.0.20 (Aurora R11), 1.1.20 (Aurora R12), 1.12.0 (Aurora R13), 1.1.0 (Aurora R15), 1.23.0 (M15 R3)

  1. Identify the exact Alienware model from the affected list (Area 51m R1/R2, Aurora R11/R12/R13/R15, M15 R2/R3)
  2. Determine the current firmware version by accessing BIOS setup (F2 during boot) or using Dell SupportAssist / Dell Update tools
  3. Download the corresponding firmware update from Dell's support website (dell.com/support) for the specific model: Area 51m R1 to version 1.26.0, Area 51m R2 to version 1.22.0, Aurora R11 to version 1.0.20, Aurora R12 to version 1.1.20, Aurora R13 to version 1.12.0, Aurora R15 to version 1.1.0, M15 R2 to version 1.22.0, M15 R3 to version 1.23.0
  4. Ensure the laptop is connected to AC power (or desktop to stable power) to prevent interruption during flash
  5. Run the Dell BIOS update executable (.exe) or use the Windows-based update utility, or create a bootable USB for BIOS update if preferred
  6. Restart the system and allow the firmware update to complete - do not interrupt power or restart manually during the flashing process
  7. Verify the updated firmware version matches the target version after the update completes
Caveat Firmware updates carry inherent risk of system unbootability 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 Area 51m R1 Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,200
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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-2023-28029 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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