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DSA-2020-119: Dell Client Products Unauthorized BIOS Password Reset Tool Vulnerability

Summary: Dell Client Consumer and Commercial platforms contain remediation for a BIOS Password Recovery Mechanism vulnerability that could be exploited by malicious users to compromise the affected systems. ...

This article applies to This article does not apply to This article is not tied to any specific product. Not all product versions are identified in this article.
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Impact

Medium

Details

Proprietary Code CVE Description CVSS Base Score CVSS Vector String
CVE-2020-5361 Select Dell Client Commercial and Consumer platforms support a BIOS password reset capability that is designed to assist authorized customers who forget their passwords. Dell is aware of unauthorized password generation tools that can generate BIOS recovery passwords. The tools, which are not authorized by Dell, can be used by a physically present attacker to reset BIOS passwords and BIOS-managed Hard Disk Drive (HDD) passwords. An unauthenticated attacker with physical access to the system could potentially exploit this vulnerability to bypass security restrictions for BIOS Setup configuration, HDD access and BIOS pre-boot authentication. 5.1 CVSS:3.1/AV:P/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:LThis hyperlink is taking you to a website outside of Dell Technologies.
Proprietary Code CVE Description CVSS Base Score CVSS Vector String
CVE-2020-5361 Select Dell Client Commercial and Consumer platforms support a BIOS password reset capability that is designed to assist authorized customers who forget their passwords. Dell is aware of unauthorized password generation tools that can generate BIOS recovery passwords. The tools, which are not authorized by Dell, can be used by a physically present attacker to reset BIOS passwords and BIOS-managed Hard Disk Drive (HDD) passwords. An unauthenticated attacker with physical access to the system could potentially exploit this vulnerability to bypass security restrictions for BIOS Setup configuration, HDD access and BIOS pre-boot authentication. 5.1 CVSS:3.1/AV:P/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:LThis hyperlink is taking you to a website outside of Dell Technologies.
Dell Technologies recommends all customers consider both the CVSS base score and any relevant temporal and environmental scores that may impact the potential severity associated with a particular security vulnerability.

Affected Products & Remediation

NOTE: See Additional Info
NOTE: See Additional Info
NOTE: Customers can choose to enable the Master Password Lockout feature from BIOS Setup (available on commercial platforms – all platforms with Insyde BIOS release from March 2024 onwards and for all other platforms starting from 2011) to protect BIOS Admin, BIOS System and HDD passwords from being reset. Dell also recommends customers follow security best practices and prevent unauthorized physical access to devices
NOTE: For enabling Master Password Lockout feature from BIOS Setup for Insyde BIOS-based platforms, upgrade to the latest BIOS release from March 2024 onwards. Please refer to Dell Client Products Unauthorized BIOS Password Reset Tools for more details on how to check if your system is running on Insyde BIOS.
WARNING: If the Master Password Lockout option is selected and the customer subsequently forgets the password, Dell will not be able to assist in the recovery of passwords. The platform will be unrecoverable, and the motherboard or hard drive will need to be replaced.

More information and answers to frequently asked questions can be viewed at: Dell Client Products Unauthorized BIOS Password Reset Tools

Dell Client Consumer and Commercial Platforms Affected
This issue affects select Dell Client Commercial and Consumer systems. This includes all platforms with Insyde BIOS and any platform that displays the following identifiers on the BIOS pre-boot password prompts (Dell Security Manager) are impacted.
  • <SERVICE TAG or HDD SN>-D35B
  • <SERVICE TAG or HDD SN>-1F5A
  • <SERVICE TAG or HDD SN>-595B
  • <SERVICE TAG or HDD SN>-2A7B
  • <SERVICE TAG or HDD SN>-1D3B
  • <SERVICE TAG or HDD SN>-1F66
  • <SERVICE TAG or HDD SN>-6FF1
  • <SERVICE TAG or HDD SN>-BF97
  • <SERVICE TAG or HDD SN>-E7A8

Revision History

RevisionDateDescription
1.02020-12-17Initial Release
2.02023-11-29Updated Additional Info Section: Dell Client and Commercial Platforms Affected
3.02024-04-02Updated Affected Products and Remediation Section: Dell Client Consumer and Commercial Platforms Affected
4.02024-04-02Updated for enhanced presentation with no changes to content
5.02024-04-02Updated for enhanced presentation with no changes to content
6.02024-04-24Updated for enhanced presentation with no changes to content

Related Information

Dell Security Advisories and Notices
Dell Vulnerability Response Policy
CVSS Scoring Guide

Legal Disclaimer

Affected Products

Product Security Information
Article Properties
Article Number: 000180741
Article Type: Dell Security Advisory
Last Modified: 02 Apr 2024
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