Dell has now released a security patch to fix a security vulnerability affecting many Dell computers as far back as 2009. It’s also providing instructions on how to install the patch should in case your pc is affected, according to threatpost.
The vulnerability was originally found by security research firm SentinelLabs. It is present in a driver used by Dell and Alienware’s firmware update utilities, allowing an attacker to gain full kernel-level permissions in Windows.
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The list of affected computers on Dell’s website has over 380 models on it. They include some of its latest XPS 13 and 15 models, and the G3, G5, and G7 gaming laptops. In addition to those, Dell also lists almost 200 computers that it considers to be no longer receiving service.
“The multiple local privilege-escalation (LPE) bugs exist in the firmware update driver version 2.3 (dbutil_2_3.sys) module, which has been in use since 2009. The driver component handles Dell firmware updates via the Dell BIOS Utility, and it comes pre-installed on most Dell machines running Windows,” threatpost says in its report.
Dell and SentinelLabs say that there’s no evidence of the vulnerability being exploited by hackers. This is despite the length of time the vulnerability has been around for. According to Dell’s FAQ, a person will have to have access to your computer in some way to take advantage of the bug. They could gain that access through malware, phishing, or remote access privileges.
Dell says that although the vulnerable driver doesn’t ship with the systems, it is installed when a user updates their computer’s firmware.
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