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Alienware Area 51m R2 FirmwareOperating system · Dell

CVE-2024-32860

HIGH · 8.2 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-06-13
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 1.0.24 / 1.1.12 or later.
See remediation →
84/100
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 Client Platform BIOS contains an Improper Input Validation vulnerability in an externally developed component. A high privileged attacker with local access could potentially exploit this vulnerability, leading to Code execution.

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 Client Platform BIOS contains an improper input validation vulnerability in an externally developed (third-party) component. A high-privileged attacker with local physical access to the system could potentially exploit this vulnerability to achieve code execution, likely at the firmware/BIOS level with significant system control.

MitigationApply the Dell BIOS firmware update when released. Restrict physical access to affected systems and ensure only trusted administrators have high-privileged local 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
Alienware Area 51m R2 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< 1.26.0
Alienware Aurora R11 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< 1.0.24
Alienware Aurora R12 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< 1.1.25
Alienware Aurora R13 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:<= 1.1.19
Alienware Aurora R15 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< 1.1.12
Alienware Aurora R15 Amd FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< 1.13.0
Alienware Aurora Ryzen Edition R14 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< 2.18.0
Alienware M15 R3 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< 1.27.0

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
High
User interaction
None
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/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 Dell Alienware model
    Run 'dmidecode -s system-product-name' on Linux, 'wmic baseboard get product' on Windows, or check the system label/purchase documentation
    Affected if The model is one of: Alienware Area 51m R2, Alienware Aurora R11, Alienware Aurora R12, Alienware Aurora R13, Alienware Aurora R15, Alienware Aurora R15 Amd, Alienware Aurora Ryzen Edition R14, or Alienware M15 R3
  2. Check current BIOS firmware version
    Run 'dmidecode -s bios-version' on Linux, 'wmic bios get smbiosbiosversion' on Windows, or enter BIOS setup (F2) and view the BIOS version on the main screen
    Affected if A BIOS version is returned and it is lower than the version threshold for your specific model
  3. Compare version against affected ranges
    Match your model and BIOS version to the following thresholds: Area 51m R2 <1.26.0, Aurora R11 <1.0.24, Aurora R12 <1.1.25, Aurora R13 <=1.1.19, Aurora R15 <1.1.12, Aurora R15 Amd <1.13.0, Aurora Ryzen Edition R14 <2.18.0, M15 R3 <1.27.0
    Affected if Your installed BIOS version falls below the threshold listed for your model (note: <=1.1.19 means 1.1.19 and any lower version are affected)
  4. Verify physical access threat model
    Consider whether untrusted individuals could gain local physical access to the system
    Affected if The system is in an environment where untrusted persons could obtain physical access and there is high-privileged local account access available

You are affected if you own one of the listed Alienware models and your current BIOS firmware version is below the threshold specified for that model.

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 1.0.24 / 1.1.12 / 1.1.25 or later
Fixed in 1.0.241.1.121.1.25
Interim mitigation

Apply the Dell BIOS firmware update when released. Restrict physical access to affected systems and ensure only trusted administrators have high-privileged local access.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

BIOS firmware version >= 1.26.0 (Area 51m R2), >= 1.0.24 (Aurora R11), >= 1.1.25 (Aurora R12), >= 1.1.20 (Aurora R13), >= 1.1.12 (Aurora R15), >= 1.13.0 (Aurora R15 Amd), >= 2.18.0 (Aurora Ryzen Edition R14), >= 1.27.0 (M15 R3)

  1. 1. Identify the exact Alienware model from the affected list (Area 51m R2, Aurora R11/R12/R13/R15, Aurora R15 Amd, Aurora Ryzen Edition R14, or M15 R3)
  2. 2. Power on the system and press F2 during boot to enter BIOS Setup, or use Dell SupportAssist / Dell Update utility
  3. 3. Navigate to the BIOS Update section in the firmware settings
  4. 4. Download the latest BIOS firmware from Dell's support website for the specific model: go to www.dell.com and search for the product name followed by 'BIOS update'
  5. 5. If using local update: select 'Update BIOS' from the BIOS menu, browse to the downloaded .exe file, and follow the prompts
  6. 6. Confirm the update and allow the system to reboot; do not interrupt the flashing process
  7. 7. After update completes, verify the BIOS version in BIOS Setup matches or exceeds: Area 51m R2: 1.26.0, Aurora R11: 1.0.24, Aurora R12: 1.1.25, Aurora R13: 1.1.20 or higher, Aurora R15: 1.1.12, Aurora R15 Amd: 1.13.0, Aurora Ryzen Edition R14: 2.18.0, M15 R3: 1.27.0
Caveat BIOS firmware updates carry a risk of system brick if interrupted; ensure AC power is connected and do not interrupt the flashing process

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

Fix this in Alienware Area 51m R2 Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,600
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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-2024-32860 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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