dbcve.org
Poweredge R660 FirmwareOperating system · Dell

CVE-2023-32460

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-12-08
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 1.6.6 or later.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
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 PowerEdge BIOS contains an improper privilege management security vulnerability. An unauthenticated local attacker could potentially exploit this vulnerability, leading to privilege escalation.

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 PowerEdge BIOS contains an improper privilege management vulnerability that allows an unauthenticated local attacker to escalate privileges. This is a firmware-level flaw in the BIOS that bypasses normal authentication and authorization controls, potentially giving an attacker administrative or kernel-level access to the system.

MitigationApply the Dell BIOS/firmware update for PowerEdge servers as specified in Dell's security advisory. Prioritize patching systems with direct local access and those in sensitive or high-risk network segments.

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
Poweredge R660 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< 1.6.6
Poweredge R760 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< 1.6.6
Poweredge C6620 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< 1.6.6
Poweredge Mx760c FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< 1.6.6
Poweredge R860 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< 1.6.6
Poweredge R960 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< 1.6.6
Poweredge Hs5610 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< 1.6.6
Poweredge Hs5620 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< 1.6.6

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
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify your PowerEdge server model
    Check the server label, iDRAC web interface, or run `dmidecode -s system-product-name` to confirm the exact model number
    Affected if The model is one of: R660, R760, C6620, Mx760c, R860, R960, Hs5610, or Hs5620
  2. Retrieve the current BIOS/firmware version
    Access the iDRAC web interface and navigate to Overview > Server > Firmware, or run `dmidecode -s bios-version` from the operating system, or check the BIOS setup screen information page
    Affected if A version number is returned that is lower than 1.6.6 (for example, 1.5.0, 1.4.2, etc.)
  3. Verify the firmware version matches the affected product list
    Confirm that your specific model (R660, R760, C6620, Mx760c, R860, R960, Hs5610, or Hs5620) is running firmware version 1.6.5 or earlier
    Affected if The model is on the affected list AND the installed firmware version is less than 1.6.6
  4. Confirm the vulnerability is exploitable in your environment
    Verify that the system allows local physical access or remote iDRAC access that could be leveraged by an unauthenticated attacker to exploit the BIOS privilege escalation
    Affected if Local console access or iDRAC access is available to untrusted users without proper authentication controls

You are affected if your Dell PowerEdge server model matches one of the listed products and the installed BIOS/firmware version is below 1.6.6.

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 1.6.6 or later
Fixed in 1.6.6
Interim mitigation

Apply the Dell BIOS/firmware update for PowerEdge servers as specified in Dell's security advisory. Prioritize patching systems with direct local access and those in sensitive or high-risk network segments.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

BIOS Firmware version 1.6.6 or later

  1. Identify the specific PowerEdge model from the affected list (R660, R760, C6620, Mx760c, R860, R960, Hs5610, or Hs5620)
  2. Access the Dell support website at www.dell.com and navigate to the drivers and downloads section for your specific PowerEdge server model
  3. Locate the BIOS/firmware update for version 1.6.6 or later
  4. Download the appropriate BIOS/firmware update package for your server model
  5. Review the BIOS update instructions provided in the Dell documentation
  6. Apply the BIOS/firmware update following Dell's standard firmware update procedure, which typically requires: rebooting the server, entering BIOS/UEFI setup or using iDRAC lifecycle controller, and running the firmware update utility
  7. After the update completes, verify that the BIOS firmware version is now 1.6.6 or higher
Caveat Firmware updates carry inherent risks; ensure proper backup and follow Dell's update procedure to avoid render the system unbootable

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Poweredge R660 Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,200
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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-2023-32460 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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