CVE-2023-28032
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 · high confidenceDell BIOS contains an improper input validation vulnerability that allows a local authenticated user with administrator privileges to modify UEFI variables. This is a firmware-level issue where the BIOS fails to properly validate input before writing to UEFI variable storage, potentially allowing tampering with boot-related 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 exact Dell Alienware system modelCheck the system model by running 'systeminfo' (Windows) or checking /sys/class/dmi/id/product_name (Linux), or physically inspect the system labelAffected if The model is not one of: Alienware Area 51m R1, Area 51m R2, Aurora R11, Aurora R12, Aurora R13, Aurora R15, M15 R2, or M15 R3
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Retrieve the current BIOS firmware versionRun 'wmic bios get smbiosbiosversion' (Windows) or 'dmidecode -s bios-version' (Linux), or access BIOS/UEFI setup and check the BIOS version informationAffected if The installed BIOS version is below the threshold for your specific 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)
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Verify if UEFI variable modification is possibleAttempt to read or write a non-critical UEFI variable using tools like 'efivar' (Linux) or check UEFI variable permissions through the operating system. On Windows, check if the user has elevated privileges and can access UEFI variable storesAffected if A local authenticated user with administrator privileges can modify UEFI variables (the vulnerability allows tampering with boot-related settings)
You are affected if you have a Dell Alienware system from the list AND your BIOS firmware version is lower than the specified threshold AND an administrator-level user could potentially modify UEFI variables on your 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 the Dell BIOS/firmware update for affected systems. This requires downloading the specific BIOS update from Dell's support site and deploying it via an enterprise deployment tool or manual update process.
Alienware 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+
- Identify the exact Alienware model from the affected list (Area 51m R1/R2, Aurora R11/R12/R13/R15, M15 R2/R3)
- Note the current firmware version installed on the system
- Download the latest BIOS/firmware update from the Dell Support website (support.dell.com) for the specific model
- Follow Dell's standard BIOS update procedure - typically this involves running the firmware update executable while the system is plugged into AC power and not interrupted
- Restart the system after the update completes to ensure the new firmware is applied
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation6.0 h
- Implementation12.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-28032 — 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-2023-28032 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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