Cyber Resilience

CVE-2025-29989

Dell Precision 5820 Tower Firmware ≤ 2.42.0

Published
10 April 2025
Modified
18 August 2025
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 3.1
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:L
EPSS Score 0.0013 3th percentile
Risk Priority 25 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2025-29989 is a low-severity Security Version Number Mutable to Older Versions (CWE-1328) vulnerability in Dell Precision 5820 Tower Firmware. Its CVSS base score is 3.1 (Low).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Downgrade Attack (T1689); ranked at the 3th 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 SC-51 (Hardware-based Protection) and SI-7 (Software, Firmware, and Information Integrity) — see the control section below for these in your framework.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Dell Client Platform BIOS contains a Security Version Number Mutable to Older Versions vulnerability. A high privileged attacker with local access could potentially exploit this vulnerability, leading to BIOS upgrade denial.

CWE(s)

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1689 Downgrade Attack Defense Impairment
Adversaries may downgrade or use a version of system features that may be outdated, vulnerable, and/or does not support updated security controls.
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2025-36582Same vendor: Dell
CVE-2023-43088Same product: Dell Precision 7865 Tower
CVE-2025-5825Shared CWE-1328
CVE-2024-13870Shared CWE-1328
CVE-2025-8321Shared CWE-1328
CVE-2023-32471Same product: Dell Precision 5820 Tower
CVE-2024-22429Same product: Dell Precision 5820 Tower
CVE-2025-43728Same vendor: Dell
CVE-2023-32493Same vendor: Dell
CVE-2023-48674Same product: Dell Precision 5820 Tower

Affected Assets

dell
precision 5820 tower firmware
≤ 2.42.0
dell
precision 7820 tower firmware
≤ 2.46.0
dell
precision 7920 tower firmware
≤ 2.46.0
dell
precision 7865 tower firmware
≤ 1.18.0

Mitigating Controls

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

Hardware-enforced write protection directly stops unauthorized mutation of a security version number to older values.

Firmware integrity verification can discover that a version rollback has occurred after the fact.

Enforcing access restrictions on configuration changes can block unauthorized writes to a mutable security version register.

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.

ID.RA-09 mostly match
prevents

Pre-acquisition assessment of hardware authenticity/integrity directly prevents purchase of chips whose security version numbers can be rolled back.

PR.PS-01 partial match
prevents

Hardened baselines and configuration management can enforce immutable version checks or secure-boot policies that mitigate rollback.

PR.PS-03 partial match
prevents

Hardware lacking immutable version-number protection can be identified and replaced as part of risk-based hardware maintenance.

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.

degrades

Controlled software installation procedures can block unauthorized or older firmware versions from being loaded.

prevents

Secure SDLC practices can embed anti-rollback mechanisms during hardware/firmware design.

prevents

Secure architecture principles can mandate hardware-enforced version counters or fuses.

degrades

Change-management processes can require cryptographic verification of firmware versions before deployment.

degrades

Configuration management can enforce immutable or version-locked firmware images, limiting rollback risk.

References