CVE-2023-28031
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 that allows a local authenticated user with administrator privileges to modify UEFI variables. This could enable persistence mechanisms, security feature bypass, or boot-level attacks by manipulating firmware settings.
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 the Alienware system modelCheck the system model number via 'dmidecode -s system-product-name' or by viewing the system information in BIOS/UEFI setupAffected if The model is an Alienware Area 51m R1/R2, Aurora R11/R12/R13/R15, or M15 R2/R3
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Determine the current BIOS firmware versionRun 'dmidecode -s bios-version' from Linux, or check via Dell SupportAssist, or view the BIOS version displayed at system boot or in BIOS setup under ' BIOS Version' or 'Main'Affected if A firmware version is returned that matches one of the affected model families
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Compare the installed version against vulnerable rangesFor your identified model, verify the installed version number against: 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 The installed version is lower than the version threshold for your specific model
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Confirm administrator privileges exist in the local environmentThis vulnerability requires a local authenticated user with administrator privileges to modify UEFI variables; verify if such accounts exist on the systemAffected if Local administrator accounts are present on the affected system
The system is affected if it is an Alienware model from the affected list and runs a BIOS firmware version lower than the threshold for that model, with administrator accounts present.
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 the Dell BIOS firmware update provided by the vendor to address the improper input validation. Organizations should verify which Dell systems are affected and deploy updates following vendor guidance, including testing in controlled environments before broad deployment.
BIOS 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), or 1.23.0 (M15 R3) depending on specific model
- 1. Identify the exact Dell Alienware system model from the affected list (Area 51m R1/R2, Aurora R11/R12/R13/R15, M15 R2/R3)
- 2. Navigate to Dell's support website (www.dell.com) and enter the system Service Tag or search for the model
- 3. Locate the BIOS/firmware section for the specific system
- 4. Download the BIOS update version equal to or higher than the fixed version for your model: Area 51m R1 requires >=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
- 5. Review all prerequisites for BIOS update installation (ensure AC power is connected, battery is sufficiently charged)
- 6. Run the downloaded BIOS update executable or use Dell Update/CSupport tools to apply the update
- 7. Restart the system to complete the firmware update process
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-28031 — 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-2023-28031 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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