CVE-2024-0158
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 admin privileges may potentially exploit this vulnerability to modify a UEFI variable, leading to denial of service and escalation of privileges
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 an improper input validation vulnerability in UEFI variable handling. A local authenticated user with admin privileges can exploit this to modify UEFI variables, potentially causing denial of service through system instability or achieving privilege escalation beyond their current administrative access.
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< 1.28.0< 1.28.0< 1.15.0< 1.15.0< 1.2.1< 1.12.1< 1.12.1< 1.2.0CVSS 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 your Dell Alienware modelRun `dmidecode -s system-product-name` or check the system label/sticker to confirm the exact model (e.g., Alienware M15 R6, Alienware M18 R1)Affected if The model is one of the eight affected models listed in the CVE (M15 R6, M15 R7, M16 R1, M18 R1, M18 R2, X14 R2, X16 R1, X16 R2)
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Retrieve the current BIOS firmware versionRun `dmidecode -s bios-version` or use the Dell SupportAssist / BIOS update utility to view the installed firmware versionAffected if The installed firmware version is below the threshold for your specific model (M15 R6/R7: <1.28.0, M16 R1/M18 R1: <1.15.0, M18 R2: <1.2.1, X14 R2: <1.12.1, X16 R1: <1.12.1, X16 R2: <1.2.0)
You are affected if you own one of the listed Alienware models and your current BIOS firmware version is lower than the version threshold specified for that model.
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 · scoped1.2.01.2.11.12.1
Apply the Dell BIOS firmware update provided by Dell for affected systems. Verify the update addresses UEFI variable manipulation protections and test system stability post-update.
Firmware version 1.28.0 for M15 R6/R7; 1.15.0 for M16 R1 and M18 R1; 1.2.1 for M18 R2; 1.12.1 for X14 R2 and X16 R1; 1.2.0 for X16 R2
- 1. Identify the specific Alienware model from the affected list (M15 R6, M15 R7, M16 R1, M18 R1, M18 R2, X14 R2, X16 R1, or X16 R2)
- 2. Navigate to Dell's support website (www.dell.com) and locate the BIOS update for your specific model
- 3. Download the BIOS firmware update file corresponding to the fixed version: M15 R6/R7 = 1.28.0, M16 R1 = 1.15.0, M18 R1 = 1.15.0, M18 R2 = 1.2.1, X14 R2 = 1.12.1, X16 R1 = 1.12.1, X16 R2 = 1.2.0
- 4. Run the BIOS update utility as an administrator
- 5. Follow the on-screen prompts to complete the firmware update - the system will typically restart multiple times
- 6. Verify the BIOS version has been updated by checking the BIOS setup (typically press F2 or Delete during boot)
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2024-0158 — 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-2024-0158 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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