CVE-2023-28044
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 where a local authenticated user with administrator privileges can modify UEFI variables. This could allow tampering with firmware-level settings, potentially leading to persistent code execution or security control bypass.
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.
-
Identify the Dell system modelRun 'dmidecode -s system-product-name' on Linux or 'wmic computersystem get model' on Windows to obtain the exact system model name.Affected if The model is one of: Alienware Area 51m R1, Alienware Area 51m R2, Alienware Aurora R11, Alienware Aurora R12, Alienware Aurora R13, Alienware Aurora R15, Alienware M15 R2, or Alienware M15 R3.
-
Determine the current BIOS firmware versionRun 'dmidecode -s bios-version' on Linux or 'wmic bios get version' on Windows to retrieve the installed BIOS version string.Affected if The version string is present and can be compared against the affected ranges.
-
Verify administrator privileges on the systemCheck if the user has administrative or root privileges by running 'whoami /groups' on Windows or 'id' on Linux; confirm the user is a member of the Administrators group or has root/sudo access.Affected if The user has administrator or root privileges, which is required to exploit this vulnerability by modifying UEFI variables.
-
Compare installed BIOS version against affected rangesMatch your identified BIOS version to the specific model version threshold: 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. Compare the version strings numerically or semantically.Affected if The installed BIOS version is lower than the stated threshold for your specific model.
You are affected if you are running one of the listed Dell Alienware models and your current BIOS firmware version is below the specified threshold for that model, and an attacker has administrator-level access to modify UEFI variables.
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 security update for affected systems. Organizations should inventory Dell systems, verify current BIOS versions, and deploy the vendor-provided firmware update through their standard patch management or imaging infrastructure.
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)
- Navigate to Dell's support website (www.dell.com) and enter the Service Tag or search for the specific model
- Locate the BIOS/Firmware section and download the latest BIOS update matching or exceeding the fixed version for your model
- Review the update instructions on Dell's support page for your specific model
- Follow Dell's standard BIOS update procedure - typically requires creating a bootable USB or running the update from Windows with administrator privileges
- Ensure the laptop is connected to AC power and do not interrupt the update process
- After the update completes, verify the BIOS version has been updated to the fixed release
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,120.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-28044 — 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-2023-28044 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
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
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.
- 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