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Alienware Area 51m R1 FirmwareOperating system · Dell

CVE-2023-28033

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 that allows a local authenticated user with administrator privileges to modify UEFI variables. This could enable persistent boot-level modifications or privilege escalation by manipulating firmware settings.

MitigationApply the appropriate Dell BIOS firmware update for affected systems. UEFI variable integrity should be verified 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 system model
    Run 'wmic computersystem get model' or check the physical system label to confirm it is an Alienware model from the Area 51m or Aurora series, or M15 R2/R3
    Affected if The model is not one of the affected Alienware products listed in the CVE (Area 51m R1/R2, Aurora R11/R12/R13/R15, M15 R2/R3)
  2. Retrieve the current BIOS firmware version
    Run 'wmic bios get smbiosbiosversion' or check the BIOS version shown during system boot (press F2 to enter BIOS setup)
    Affected if The installed BIOS version cannot be determined or the system does not expose version information via standard Dell tools
  3. Compare the installed version against affected ranges
    Compare your BIOS version number to the fixed versions: Area 51m R1 must be >=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 is LOWER than the corresponding fixed version for your specific model
  4. Verify UEFI variable write access
    Attempt to read or write a non-critical UEFI variable using tools such as 'efivar' on Linux or firmware manipulation tools from a Windows PE environment, or check if third-party UEFI variable editing tools can modify firmware variables
    Affected if UEFI variables can be modified by a local administrator account, indicating the vulnerable condition is present

The system is affected if it is an Alienware Area 51m R1/R2, Aurora R11/R12/R13/R15, or M15 R2/R3 with a BIOS version lower than the fixed version AND a local administrator can modify UEFI variables.

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 appropriate Dell BIOS firmware update for affected systems. UEFI variable integrity should be verified post-update.

Recommended fix High confidence

Firmware updates to versions 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 the specific model

  1. 1. Identify the exact Alienware model number (e.g., Alienware Area 51m R1, Alienware M15 R3, etc.)
  2. 2. Note the current BIOS/firmware version installed on the system
  3. 3. Navigate to Dell's official support website at www.dell.com
  4. 4. Enter the specific model name or service tag to find support drivers and downloads
  5. 5. Locate the BIOS/UEFI firmware update for the specific model
  6. 6. Download the firmware version that matches or exceeds: 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
  7. 7. Run the Dell firmware update utility as an administrator
  8. 8. Allow the system to restart and complete the BIOS update process (do not interrupt)
Caveat Firmware updates carry inherent risk; ensure power is stable during update 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-2023-28033 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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