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Poweredge R660 FirmwareOperating system · Dell

CVE-2023-44297

MEDIUM · 6.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-12-05
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
73/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
No privileges 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 platforms 16G Intel E5 BIOS and Dell Precision BIOS, version 1.4.4, contain active debug code security vulnerability. An unauthenticated physical attacker could potentially exploit this vulnerability, leading to information disclosure, information tampering, code execution, denial of service.

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 and Precision BIOS version 1.4.4 contains active debug code that was not removed before production release. An unauthenticated attacker with physical access can exploit this debug functionality to potentially read sensitive data, modify system behavior, execute arbitrary code, or cause denial of service.

MitigationApply the Dell BIOS update (when available) to remove the debug code. Until patched, enforce strict physical access controls on affected systems and monitor for unauthorized physical access attempts.

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:= 1.4.4
Poweredge R760 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:= 1.4.4
Poweredge C6620 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:= 1.4.4
Poweredge Mx760c FirmwareOperating system
Affected:= 1.4.4
Poweredge R860 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:= 1.4.4
Poweredge R960 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:= 1.4.4
Poweredge Hs5610 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:= 1.4.4
Poweredge Hs5620 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:= 1.4.4

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
Physical
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:P/AC:L/PR:N/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 the BIOS firmware version
    Use the server's iDRAC interface, Dell OpenManage, or run 'dmidecode -s bios-version' on the host Linux/Windows system to retrieve the installed BIOS version
    Affected if The reported BIOS version is exactly 1.4.4 on any of the affected models (R660, R760, C6620, Mx760c, R860, R960, Hs5610, Hs5620)
  2. Confirm the server model
    Check the server model number via iDRAC, OpenManage, or 'dmidecode -s system-product-name' to verify the hardware is one of the affected PowerEdge models
    Affected if The server model matches one of the listed affected products (R660, R760, C6620, Mx760c, R860, R960, Hs5610, or Hs5620) AND the BIOS version is 1.4.4

You are affected if your Dell PowerEdge server model is one of the eight listed models and the installed BIOS firmware version is exactly 1.4.4.

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
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply the Dell BIOS update (when available) to remove the debug code. Until patched, enforce strict physical access controls on affected systems and monitor for unauthorized physical access attempts.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Any BIOS firmware version higher than 1.4.4 that includes the security fix for CVE-2023-44297 - check Dell support for available versions

  1. 1. Visit Dell Support website (www.dell.com/support) and navigate to the drivers and downloads section for your specific PowerEdge model (R660, R760, C6620, Mx760c, R860, R960, Hs5610, or Hs5620)
  2. 2. Search for BIOS firmware updates
  3. 3. Download the latest available BIOS firmware version (version 1.4.4 is confirmed vulnerable; look for any version higher than 1.4.4
  4. 4. Review the BIOS update release notes to confirm the update addresses CVE-2023-44297 and the debug code vulnerability
  5. 5. Follow Dell's standard BIOS update procedure, typically involving running the update utility or flashing the BIOS from within the operating system or via iDRAC lifecycle controller
  6. 6. Verify the BIOS version has been updated to the patched release
Caveat BIOS updates carry inherent risks; ensure power continuity during update process and follow Dell's official update instructions precisely

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
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,970
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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-2023-44297 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