CVE-2023-48674 in CPG BIOS
Summary
by MITRE • 03/01/2024
Dell Platform BIOS contains an Improper Null Termination vulnerability. A high privilege user with network access to the system could potentially send malicious data to the device in order to cause some services to cease to function.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/31/2025
The CVE-2023-48674 vulnerability resides within Dell Platform BIOS firmware, representing a critical weakness in the system's boot process and firmware integrity. This flaw manifests as an improper null termination condition that can be exploited by adversaries with elevated privileges and network access to the target system. The vulnerability specifically affects the firmware's handling of string operations where null termination is not properly enforced, creating potential buffer overflow conditions or memory corruption scenarios. Such issues are particularly dangerous in BIOS environments where firmware operates with the highest privilege levels and direct hardware access capabilities.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation within the BIOS firmware components responsible for network communication and service management. When a high privilege user sends maliciously crafted data over the network to a vulnerable Dell system, the firmware fails to properly terminate strings before processing them, potentially leading to memory corruption that can cause critical system services to crash or become unresponsive. This improper null termination can be leveraged to execute arbitrary code within the firmware context or to disrupt normal system operations through service termination. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-122, which describes buffer overflow conditions resulting from improper null termination, and represents a significant concern for enterprise environments where BIOS-level attacks can persist across system reboots and are difficult to detect or remediate.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability creates substantial risk for organizations relying on Dell hardware platforms, particularly in mission-critical environments where system uptime and reliability are paramount. Attackers with network access and administrative privileges can potentially cause denial of service conditions that affect system availability, or more seriously, gain persistent access through firmware-level exploitation. The vulnerability's impact extends beyond simple service disruption as it can compromise the integrity of the entire boot process, potentially allowing attackers to establish backdoors or persistent access that survives operating system reinstalls. The attack vector requires a high privilege user with network access, which means that while the attack surface is limited, it can be particularly devastating when exploited in environments with compromised administrative accounts or insufficient network segmentation.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2023-48674 should prioritize immediate firmware updates from Dell as the primary remediation approach, following the vendor's security advisory releases. Organizations must ensure comprehensive testing of firmware updates in non-production environments before deployment to avoid potential compatibility issues or service interruptions. Network segmentation and access control measures should be strengthened to limit the attack surface, ensuring that only authorized administrative users have network access to critical systems. The vulnerability's characteristics align with ATT&CK technique T1068, which covers 'Exploitation for Privilege Escalation', and T1542.003, 'Taint Data', as the exploitation can lead to persistent access and data compromise. Additional defensive measures include implementing firmware integrity monitoring solutions, establishing robust change management processes for BIOS configurations, and conducting regular vulnerability assessments targeting firmware components. System administrators should also consider implementing network-based intrusion detection systems to monitor for suspicious network traffic patterns that may indicate exploitation attempts targeting firmware interfaces.