Security researchers from Black Hat have sounded the alarm, revealing that millions of Dell computers are at risk due to newly discovered vulnerabilities. These vulnerabilities reportedly reside in Broadcom chips used in over 100 Dell computer models, potentially enabling attackers to seize control of devices, steal passwords, and access sensitive data—including fingerprint information—of tens of millions of users.

On August 6, Dell issued a specific advisory, directly addressing issues with Broadcom's BCM5820X chip.

The primary affected products are Dell's Precision and Latitude series of laptops, which are widely owned by both business and personal users, underscoring the extensive scope of this vulnerability.

Dell's security advisory, numbered DSA-2025-053, outlines five high-severity vulnerabilities, all of which target the ControlVault3 feature in Broadcom's BCM5820X chip. This feature, akin to a hardware-based 'safe' within the computer, is specifically designed to store passwords, fingerprints, and other sensitive information in what should be the most secure location.

However, these vulnerabilities appear to have created hidden backdoors to this 'safe', empowering attackers to extract information, disrupt the computer's memory leading to malfunctions, or even exercise remote control over the affected devices.

Dell privately informed customers as early as June 13 and has since collaborated with firmware suppliers to provide timely patches.

Both business and personal users are urged to immediately review the DSA-2025-053 advisory, verify their computer models and versions, and install the corresponding ControlVault3 driver and firmware patches to mitigate the risks associated with these vulnerabilities.