CVE-2023-28075
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 contain a Time-of-check Time-of-use vulnerability in BIOS. A local authenticated malicious user with physical access to the system could potentially exploit this vulnerability by using a specifically timed DMA transaction during an SMI in order to gain arbitrary code execution on the system.
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 confidenceDell BIOS contains a Time-of-check Time-of-use (TOCTOU) vulnerability where a local authenticated user with physical access can exploit a specifically timed DMA (Direct Memory Access) transaction during a System Management Interrupt (SMI) to achieve arbitrary code execution with elevated privileges.
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< 1.18.0< 1.10.1< 1.10.1< 1.15.0< 1.15.0< 1.6.0< 1.6.0< 2.32.0CVSS 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
- Physical
- Complexity
- High
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:P/AC:H/PR:L/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 your Dell system modelCheck the system label, BIOS setup screen (press F2 during boot), or run 'dmidecode -s system-product-name' on Linux or 'wmic baseboard get product' on WindowsAffected if System is an Alienware M15 R7, M16, M18, or Chengming 3900/3901/3910/3911/3980
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Determine installed BIOS firmware versionAccess BIOS setup (F2 during boot), or run 'dmidecode -s bios-version' on Linux, 'wmic bios get smbiosbiosversion' on Windows, or use Dell Command | ConfigureAffected if Version is below the threshold for your specific model (Alienware M15 R7: 1.18.0, M16/M18: 1.10.1, Chengming 3900/3901: 1.15.0, Chengming 3910/3911: 1.6.0, Chengming 3980: 2.32.0)
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Verify physical access and authentication requirementsConfirm whether the system is in a physically secure location and assess who has authenticated accessAffected if Untrusted or unauthorized individuals have physical access or user credentials
You are affected if you run an Alienware M15 R7, M16, M18, or Chengming system with BIOS firmware below the version threshold and cannot guarantee physical security and trusted authenticated users.
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 · scoped1.6.01.10.11.15.0
Apply the Dell BIOS/firmware update for affected systems. Restrict physical access to systems and ensure only trusted authenticated users have access.
Upgrade to BIOS version 1.18.0 (M15 R7), 1.10.1 (M16/M18), 1.15.0 (3900/3901), 1.6.0 (3910/3911), or 2.32.0 (3980) as applicable
- Identify the exact system model (e.g., Alienware M15 R7, Chengming 3980, etc.) from the affected list
- Navigate to Dell's support website (www.dell.com) and enter the system Service Tag or product model to find BIOS updates
- Locate the BIOS update for the specific system and download the latest version that matches or exceeds: Alienware M15 R7 -> 1.18.0, Alienware M16 -> 1.10.1, Alienware M18 -> 1.10.1, Chengming 3900/3901 -> 1.15.0, Chengming 3910/3911 -> 1.6.0, Chengming 3980 -> 2.32.0
- Ensure the system is connected to AC power and is not interrupted during the update process
- Run the Dell BIOS update executable (.exe) or use the Dell Update package, following the on-screen instructions
- Allow the system to restart and complete the BIOS flash process - do not power off during this time
- After the update completes, verify the BIOS version has been successfully updated in the system setup (F2 during boot)
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation6.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-28075 — 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-2023-28075 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
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