CVE-2023-28050
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 malicious user with administrator privileges to modify a UEFI variable. This could enable persistent firmware-level changes or bypass of security controls.
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 modelRun 'systeminfo' or check the system label/BIOS to confirm the exact model (e.g., Alienware Area 51m R1, Alienware Aurora R11, etc.)Affected if The model is NOT one of the following: Alienware Area 51m R1, Area 51m R2, Aurora R11, Aurora R12, Aurora R13, Aurora R15, M15 R2, or M15 R3 - if the model is not in this list, it is not affected by this CVE
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Check the current BIOS firmware versionOpen a command prompt with administrator privileges and run 'wmic bios get smbiosbiosversion' or check the BIOS setup utility under the Main or Information tabAffected if Unable to retrieve a BIOS version number - the system may not be a Dell or may not have accessible BIOS version information
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Compare the installed version against the affected thresholdCompare the installed BIOS version number to the affected version for your specific model: - Area 51m R1: affected if < 1.26.0 - Area 51m R2: affected if < 1.22.0 - Aurora R11: affected if < 1.0.20 - Aurora R12: affected if < 1.1.20 - Aurora R13: affected if < 1.12.0 - Aurora R15: affected if < 1.1.0 - M15 R2: affected if < 1.22.0 - M15 R3: affected if < 1.23.0Affected if The installed BIOS version is lower than the threshold listed for your specific model - the vulnerability is present
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Verify administrator privileges exist on the systemCheck if standard user accounts exist or if the system is configured with multiple user accounts with varying privilege levels by reviewing Local Users and Groups (lusrmgr.msc)Affected if The system has multiple user accounts where at least one has administrator privileges, creating the privilege condition required for this vulnerability to be exploited
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Confirm UEFI variable modification capabilityOn Windows, open Command Prompt as Administrator and run 'bcdedit /enum firmware' to verify UEFI firmware variables are accessible, or use 'reg query HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Firmware\Parameters' to check for UEFI variable access pointsAffected if UEFI variables are readable or writable from the operating system - the vulnerability allows modification of UEFI variables by an authenticated administrator
The system is affected if it is one of the listed Dell Alienware models (Area 51m R1/R2, Aurora R11/R12/R13/R15, M15 R2/R3) AND the installed BIOS version is below the version threshold specified for that model, AND the system has an authenticated user with administrator privileges who could exploit the UEFI variable modification vector.
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 Dell BIOS/firmware updates when released by the vendor. Limit administrator-level access and monitor for unauthorized UEFI variable modifications.
Firmware upgrades 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), 1.23.0 (M15 R3) or later
- Identify the exact Alienware or Dell system model number
- Determine the current BIOS/firmware version by entering BIOS setup (F2) or checking via Dell Update utility
- Download the appropriate BIOS/firmware update from Dell's support website (support.dell.com) for the specific model
- Follow Dell's recommended BIOS update procedure: typically run the downloaded executable while connected to AC power, or use Dell Command Update / Dell Update firmware packages
- Reboot the system to complete the firmware update process
- Verify the updated firmware version matches the fixed release (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, 1.23.0 for M15 R3)
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation6.0 h
- Implementation12.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-28050 — 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-2023-28050 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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- 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
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