CVE-2023-39249
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 SupportAssist for Business PCs version 3.4.0 contains a local Authentication Bypass vulnerability that allows locally authenticated non-admin users to gain temporary privilege within the SupportAssist User Interface on their respective PC. The Run as Admin temporary privilege feature enables IT/System Administrators to perform driver scans and Dell-recommended driver installations without requiring them to log out of the local non-admin user session. However, the granted privilege is limited solely to the SupportAssist User Interface and automatically expires after 15 minutes.
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 SupportAssist for Business PCs version 3.4.0 contains a local authentication bypass where locally authenticated non-admin users can exploit the 'Run as Admin' temporary privilege feature to gain elevated privileges within the SupportAssist User Interface. The granted privilege is limited solely to the SupportAssist UI and automatically expires after 15 minutes.
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= 3.4.0CVSS 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
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- Low
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- Low
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L
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 SupportAssist installation and versionOpen Windows Control Panel or Settings > Apps & Features, locate 'Dell SupportAssist' or 'Dell SupportAssist for Home PCs', and note the installed version number. Alternatively, check the installed programs list via PowerShell: Get-WmiObject -Class Win32_Product | Where-Object {$_.Name -like '*SupportAssist*'} | Select-Object Name, VersionAffected if The installed version is exactly 3.4.0 and the product name matches Dell SupportAssist (Home or Business PCs)
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Verify user account types on the systemOpen Computer Management > Local Users and Groups > Users, or run 'net user' in Command Prompt, to list all local user accounts. Identify which accounts are designated as standard (non-admin) users versus administratorsAffected if There are locally authenticated non-admin user accounts present on the system who have access to log in and use SupportAssist
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Confirm SupportAssist 'Run as Admin' feature existsLaunch Dell SupportAssist and navigate the UI to locate the 'Run as Admin' option, typically found in the application menu or settings area. This feature is designed to grant temporary elevated privileges within the applicationAffected if The 'Run as Admin' feature is present and accessible within the SupportAssist interface, allowing users to request temporary admin-level access to specific UI functions
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Check for evidence of privilege escalation attemptsReview Windows Event Viewer logs under Security and Application logs for events around the time of SupportAssist usage. Look for ID 4648 (explicit credentials audit) or unusual process creation events. Also check SupportAssist application logs if available in %ProgramData%\Dell\SupportAssist\logsAffected if Event logs show unusual activity indicating non-admin users accessed admin-level functions within SupportAssist, or temporary privilege grants occurring outside normal administrative sessions
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Verify automatic privilege expiration behaviorIf a non-admin user has used 'Run as Admin' to gain elevated access, observe whether that elevated access automatically expires after approximately 15 minutes by checking user permissions within SupportAssist at timed intervalsAffected if Non-admin users can obtain elevated UI privileges through SupportAssist that persist temporarily and appear to auto-expire, confirming the vulnerability condition
Your environment is affected if Dell SupportAssist version 3.4.0 is installed and there are locally authenticated non-admin user accounts who can access the application and its 'Run as Admin' feature.
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.
From vendor dataApply vendor-supplied patch/update for SupportAssist for Business PCs version 3.4.0 when available; until then, restrict non-admin user access to SupportAssist and monitor for unauthorized privilege escalation attempts.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 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 $3,088.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-39249 — 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-2023-39249 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data