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Alienware Area 51m R1 FirmwareOperating system · Dell

CVE-2023-28039

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 attacker with administrator privileges to modify UEFI variables. This could enable persistent code execution or configuration changes that survive operating system reinstallation.

MitigationApply the Dell BIOS/firmware update provided by Dell for affected systems. Restrict physical access and limit administrator privileges to only trusted users.

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 your exact Alienware system model
    Run 'systeminfo' on Windows or check /sys/class/dmi/id/product_name on Linux, or view the system label/service tag
    Affected 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 - if your model is not in this list, you are not affected by this specific CVE
  2. Check the installed BIOS firmware version
    Run 'wmic bios get smbiosbiosversion' on Windows or 'dmidecode -s bios-version' on Linux, or check the BIOS setup utility under the Main or Information tab
    Affected if You cannot determine the BIOS version - you need the exact firmware version to proceed
  3. If your model is Area 51m R1, your version is vulnerable if it is below 1.26.0
    Affected if Version is below 1.26.0 or cannot be determined to be 1.26.0 or higher
  4. If your model is Area 51m R2, your version is vulnerable if it is below 1.22.0
    Affected if Version is below 1.22.0 or cannot be determined to be 1.22.0 or higher
  5. If your model is Aurora R11, your version is vulnerable if it is below 1.0.20
    Affected if Version is below 1.0.20 or cannot be determined to be 1.0.20 or higher
  6. If your model is Aurora R12, your version is vulnerable if it is below 1.1.20
    Affected if Version is below 1.1.20 or cannot be determined to be 1.1.20 or higher

You are affected only if you have one of the listed Alienware models (Area 51m R1/R2, Aurora R11/R12/R13/R15, M15 R2/R3) AND your BIOS firmware version is below the specified 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/firmware update provided by Dell for affected systems. Restrict physical access and limit administrator privileges to only trusted users.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to 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) as applicable to your model

  1. Identify your specific Alienware model and current firmware version via BIOS setup or Dell SupportAssist
  2. Visit www.dell.com and navigate to Support > Drivers & Downloads
  3. Enter your Service Tag or search for your specific model (e.g., Alienware Area 51m R1)
  4. Locate the BIOS category and download the firmware version >= 1.26.0 for Area 51m R1, >= 1.22.0 for Area 51m R2, >= 1.0.20 for Aurora R11, >= 1.1.20 for Aurora R12, >= 1.12.0 for Aurora R13, >= 1.1.0 for Aurora R15, >= 1.22.0 for M15 R2, or >= 1.23.0 for M15 R3
  5. Run the downloaded BIOS update executable with administrator privileges
  6. Follow the on-screen prompts and do not interrupt the update process
  7. Allow the system to reboot and complete the BIOS flash operation
Caveat BIOS updates carry inherent risk of system damage if interrupted; ensure stable power 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-2023-28039 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