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Alienware Area 51m R1 FirmwareOperating system · Dell

CVE-2023-28034

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 user with administrator privileges to modify a UEFI variable. This could enable persistent firmware-level modifications or bypass security controls that rely on UEFI variable integrity.

MitigationApply the Dell BIOS firmware update to all affected systems. Verify the update was successfully applied and ensure UEFI variable integrity post-patch.

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 model
    Check the system label or BIOS information to confirm the model (Area 51m R1, Area 51m R2, Aurora R11, Aurora R12, Aurora R13, Aurora R15, M15 R2, or M15 R3)
    Affected if The model is not one of the eight listed affected Alienware models
  2. Check the current BIOS firmware version
    Enter BIOS setup (F2 on boot) or use command 'wmic bios get smbiosbiosversion' on Windows, or 'dmidecode -s bios-version' on Linux
    Affected if The installed firmware version is lower than 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)
  3. Verify UEFI variable write access (optional)
    On systems with admin privileges, attempt to read a known UEFI variable using 'bcdedit /enum firmware' on Windows or 'efivar -l' on Linux to confirm UEFI variable access exists
    Affected if The system allows UEFI variable modification by an authenticated admin user (the vulnerability enables this improper modification)

You are affected if you own an Alienware Area 51m R1/R2, Aurora R11/R12/R13/R15, or M15 R2/R3 system running a BIOS firmware version lower than the threshold listed for your 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 to all affected systems. Verify the update was successfully applied and ensure UEFI variable integrity post-patch.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade BIOS/firmware to 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 the specific model

  1. 1. Identify the exact Alienware model number (e.g., Area 51m R1, Aurora R11, M15 R2, etc.)
  2. 2. Visit Dell's support website at www.dell.com and enter the service tag or search for the specific model
  3. 3. Navigate to the Drivers & Downloads section for that model
  4. 4. Locate the BIOS/Firmware update category
  5. 5. Download the latest BIOS update version that matches or exceeds the fixed version for your model: Area 51m R1 requires ≥1.26.0, Area 51m R2 requires ≥1.22.0, Aurora R11 requires ≥1.0.20, Aurora R12 requires ≥1.1.20, Aurora R13 requires ≥1.12.0, Aurora R15 requires ≥1.1.0, M15 R2 requires ≥1.22.0, M15 R3 requires ≥1.23.0
  6. 6. Run the BIOS update executable while the system is plugged into AC power
  7. 7. Allow the update to complete and the system to reboot - do not interrupt this process
  8. 8. After reboot, verify the BIOS version has been updated by checking the BIOS setup (typically press F2 or Del on boot)
Caveat BIOS updates carry a risk of bricking the system if interrupted or power is lost during the flashing process; ensure stable power and do not interrupt the update

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
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,600
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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-2023-28034 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
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data