CVE-2024-0159
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 Alienware Command Center, versions 5.5.52.0 and prior, contain improper access control vulnerability, leading to Denial of Service on local 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 Alienware Command Center versions 5.5.52.0 and prior contain an improper access control vulnerability that allows a local attacker to cause a Denial of Service on the affected system. The vulnerability stems from insufficient authorization checks within the application, enabling a local user to trigger a condition that renders the software or system unstable.
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>= 5.2.1.0, < 5.6.1.0CVSS 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
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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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Verify Alienware Command Center is installedCheck for the presence of Dell Alienware Command Center on the system via Programs and Features or by searching for the installation directory (typically under Program Files or Program Files (x86)\Dell)Affected if The application is found installed on the system
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Determine installed version numberLocate the version information for Alienware Command Center - check the program entry in Programs and Features, or right-click the executable and view Properties > Details, or check the registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall for Dell Alienware Command CenterAffected if The displayed version falls within the affected range >= 5.2.1.0 and < 5.6.1.0
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Confirm application is running or set to run at startupOpen Task Manager and look for AlienwareCommandCenter.exe or AWCCNotificationManager.exe in the Processes tab, or check Task Scheduler for AWCC-related startup tasksAffected if The application is actively running or configured to run at startup - this is required for the DoS condition to be triggerable
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Verify patch statusCompare your installed version against the fixed version 5.6.1.0 or later - versions below 5.6.1.0 remain vulnerable regardless of other configurationsAffected if The installed version is 5.5.52.0 or prior, or any version >= 5.2.1.0 but less than 5.6.1.0
The system is affected if Dell Alienware Command Center is installed with any version from 5.2.1.0 up to but not including 5.6.1.0, and the application is present and potentially running on the system.
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 data5.6.1.0
Apply the vendor patch (version 5.5.53.0 or later) to remediate the improper access control vulnerability. Since this is a local DoS, ensure least-privilege principles are followed for local user accounts.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation1.0 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-2024-0159 — 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-2024-0159 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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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.
- 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