Millions of Dell PCs are at serious risk from hackers, here's what YOU need to do
Dell laptop and desktop PC owners have been put on red alert about a security vulnerability that affects at least 30 million devices worldwide. Researchers from firmware security platform Eclypsium said the flaw, which affects 129 different models of Dell laptops, desktops and tablets, could allow hackers to carry out remote code execution attacks.
The Dell vulnerability is ranked 8.3 out of 10 on the CVSS scale, which is comfortably in its “high” ranking. This means the vulnerability is in the second highest CVSS threat tier.
Researchers discovered four vulnerabilities that affect Dell SupportAssist’s BIOSConnect feature. This bug could allow hackers to carry out remote code execution attacks within the BIOS of these devices. Speaking about their findings in a post online, Eclypsium said: “These vulnerabilities enable an attacker to remotely execute code in the pre-boot environment.
“Such code may alter the initial state of an operating system, violating common assumptions on the hardware/firmware layers and breaking OS-level security controls. As attackers increasingly shift their focus to vendor supply chains and system firmware, it is more important than ever that organisations have independent visibility and control over the integrity of their devices.”
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