CVE-2024-52541
Dell Alienware M15 R6 Firmware ≤ 1.34.0
Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:HCVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.
Summary
CVE-2024-52541 is a high-severity Weak Authentication (CWE-1390) vulnerability in Dell Alienware M15 R6 Firmware. Its CVSS base score is 8.2 (High).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Brute Force (T1110); ranked at the 6th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to IA-12 (Identity Proofing) and IA-2 (Identification and Authentication (Organizational Users)) — see the control section below for these in your framework.
Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary
Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.
CVE-2024-52541 is a Weak Authentication vulnerability in the Dell Client Platform BIOS. This flaw, associated with CWE-1390, affects Dell client systems running the impacted BIOS firmware. Published on February 19, 2025, it carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 8.2 (AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H), indicating high severity due to its potential for significant impact despite requiring local access and high privileges.
A high-privileged attacker with local access to the affected system could exploit this vulnerability to achieve elevation of privileges. The low attack complexity and lack of user interaction requirements make it feasible for such an attacker to bypass authentication mechanisms in the BIOS, potentially gaining broader control over the system's firmware and hardware resources.
Dell has addressed this issue in security advisory DSA-2025-021, available at https://www.dell.com/support/kbdoc/en-us/000258429/dsa-2025-021, which provides details on mitigation steps and available patches for affected BIOS versions. Security practitioners should consult this advisory to identify impacted systems and apply the recommended firmware updates promptly.
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2025-4673
Vulnerability Data
Dell Client Platform BIOS contains a Weak Authentication vulnerability. A high privileged attacker with local access could potentially exploit this vulnerability, leading to Elevation of Privileges.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Control response
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- 8 hardening rules · 6 OS baselines
V7.6.1V6.3.6V6.4.2V6.4.4
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Requires identity proofing at appropriate assurance levels before granting accounts, directly addressing insufficient proof of identity.
Requires unique identification and authentication of users, directly stopping weak mechanisms from being used.
Requires device identification and authentication before establishing connections.
Extends strong identification and authentication requirements to non-organizational users.
Mandates proper authenticator issuance, management, and strength to ensure claimed identities are verified.
Enforces access decisions based on authenticated identities, making weak authentication less exploitable.
Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
Explicitly requires authentication of users/services/hardware with MFA and password-strength controls.
Identity proofing and binding is a core prerequisite for non-weak authentication.
Credential management directly supports stronger authentication but does not guarantee proof of identity.
Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
Mandating multi-factor and non-password authentication techniques counters the use of inherently weak single-factor or password-only authentication mechanisms.
Strong-password and non-reuse requirements raise the bar against weak single-factor authentication that can be exploited via guessing or credential stuffing.
Hardening callouts derived
Configuration rules from DISA STIG baselines that bear on weaknesses of the type cited by this CVE. Each rule is shown with the relationship its mapping actually records, against the CWE it was authored against. Derived via CVE→CWE over `controls_xwalks` (authoritative rows only; rows rated `none` are excluded).
Oracle Linux 8 (1 rule)
- V-248827 OL 8 must not have the rsh-server package installed. prevents CWE-1390
RHEL 7 (1 rule)
- V-204442 The Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating system must not have the rsh-server package installed. prevents CWE-1390
RHEL 8 (1 rule)
- V-230492 RHEL 8 must not have the rsh-server package installed. prevents CWE-1390
Ubuntu 22.04 (1 rule)
- V-260470 Ubuntu 22.04 LTS, when booted, must require authentication upon booting into single-user and maintenance modes. prevents CWE-1390
Windows 10 (1 rule)
- V-220865 The Windows Remote Management (WinRM) service must not use Basic authentication. prevents CWE-1390