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Alienware Area 51m R1 FirmwareOperating system · Dell

CVE-2023-28030

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 · high confidence

Dell BIOS contains an improper input validation vulnerability that allows a local authenticated malicious user with administrator privileges to modify a UEFI variable. This could allow an attacker to alter UEFI settings such as boot order or disable security features like Secure Boot.

MitigationApply the Dell BIOS update that addresses this vulnerability. Organizations should identify affected Dell systems, test the update in a controlled environment, and deploy the patch according to Dell's release notes.

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 exact Dell Alienware system model
    Check the system model number via running 'systeminfo' on Windows or checking /sys/class/dmi/id/product_name on Linux, or physically inspect the system label
    Affected if The model is one of the affected products: 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
    On Windows, run 'wmic bios get smbiosbiosversion' or check in BIOS setup under Main or Information tab. On Linux, run 'dmidecode -s bios-version'
    Affected if The firmware version is below the safe threshold for the identified model
  3. Verify the specific vulnerable version against affected ranges
    Compare the installed firmware version number to these thresholds: 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
    Affected if The installed version falls below the listed threshold for that specific model

A user is affected if they have an Alienware system from the listed models AND the installed BIOS firmware version is lower than the specified safe 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 1.0.20 / 1.1.0 / 1.1.20 or later
Fixed in 1.0.201.1.01.1.20
Interim mitigation

Apply the Dell BIOS update that addresses this vulnerability. Organizations should identify affected Dell systems, test the update in a controlled environment, and deploy the patch according to Dell's release notes.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Firmware version equal to or greater than: Area 51m R1 at 1.26.0, Area 51m R2 at 1.22.0, Aurora R11 at 1.0.20, Aurora R12 at 1.1.20, Aurora R13 at 1.12.0, Aurora R15 at 1.1.0, M15 R2 at 1.22.0, M15 R3 at 1.23.0

  1. 1. Identify the specific Alienware system model from the affected product list
  2. 2. Determine the current BIOS/firmware version installed on the system (typically accessible via BIOS setup or Dell SupportAssist
  3. 3. Navigate to the Dell support website (www.dell.com) and enter the system Service Tag or model number
  4. 4. Locate the BIOS/Firmware section and download the version matching or exceeding the fixed version for your model: Area 51m R1 requires 1.26.0+, R2 requires 1.22.0+; Aurora R11 requires 1.0.20+, R12 requires 1.1.20+, R13 requires 1.12.0+, R15 requires 1.1.0+; M15 R2 requires 1.22.0+, M15 R3 requires 1.23.0+
  5. 5. Review the BIOS update instructions provided by Dell
  6. 6. Run the BIOS update executable with administrator privileges
  7. 7. Allow the system to restart and complete the BIOS flashing process
  8. 8. Verify the updated firmware version after the update completes
Caveat BIOS updates carry inherent risk of system instability if interrupted; ensure stable power connection 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
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,690
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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-2023-28030 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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