Brother Printer Security Flaw: Default Password Hack
- Security researchers have uncovered significant vulnerabilities in Brother printers, including a flaw that allows unauthorized individuals to generate default administrator passwords.
- The most severe issue, identified as CVE-2024-51978, carries a CVSS score of 9.8,indicating its critical nature.
- Along with the password generation flaw, other vulnerabilities include:
Critical Brother printer flaws are exposing default passwords, putting users at risk. Security researchers have discovered vulnerabilities, with a severe one allowing attackers to generate default administrator passwords, a critical security oversight addressed by Brother USA. This password hack vulnerability, rated 9.8 on the CVSS scale, necessitates immediate action. Brother is urging users to update firmware and change default passwords. News Directory 3 explores the full scope of these vulnerabilities, offering insights into CVE-2024-51978 and other related issues. Stay informed and protect your devices. Discover what’s next in printer security.
Brother Printer Flaws Expose Default Passwords, Critical Vulnerabilities
Security researchers have uncovered significant vulnerabilities in Brother printers, including a flaw that allows unauthorized individuals to generate default administrator passwords. This critical vulnerability, along with several others, poses a serious risk to users who have not updated their devices.
The most severe issue, identified as CVE-2024-51978, carries a CVSS score of 9.8,indicating its critical nature. This flaw enables an unauthenticated attacker to generate the device’s default administrator password, perhaps granting them full control over the printer. brother confirmed that this particular vulnerability is tied to the manufacturing process and cannot be resolved thru firmware updates alone. The company advises users to instantly change their printer passwords.
Along with the password generation flaw, other vulnerabilities include:
- CVE-2024-51977: Sensitive information leak.
- CVE-2024-51979: Stack-based buffer overflow.
- CVE-2024-51980: Forcing the device to open a TCP connection.
- CVE-2024-51981: Forcing the device to perform arbitrary HTTP requests.
- CVE-2024-51982 and CVE-2024-51983: Causing the device to crash.
- CVE-2024-51984: Disclosing passwords of configured external services.
The vulnerabilities affect a range of Brother printer models, with CVE-2024-51978 and CVE-2024-51980 being the most widespread. The ability to remotely access a printer’s serial number (CVE-2024-51977) is less common, affecting 463 out of 748 models.
Security experts urge users to update their printer firmware and change default passwords to mitigate these risks. Leaving default passwords unchanged can lead to devices being crashed or,worse,compromised by malicious actors.
|
CVE |
Description |
CVSS |
|
CVE-2024-51977 |
An unauthenticated attacker can leak sensitive information. |
5.3 (Medium) |
|
CVE-2024-51978 |
An unauthenticated attacker can generate the device’s default administrator password. |
9.8 (Critical) |
|
CVE-2024-51979 |
An authenticated attacker can trigger a stack based buffer overflow. |
7.2 (High) |
|
CVE-2024-51980 |
An unauthenticated attacker can force the device to open a TCP connection. |
5.3 (Medium) |
|
CVE-2024-51981 |
An unauthenticated attacker can force the device to perform an arbitrary HTTP request. |
5.3 (Medium) |
|
CVE-2024-51982 |
An unauthenticated attacker can crash the device. |
7.5 (High) |
|
CVE-2024-51983 |
An unauthenticated attacker can crash the device. |
7.5 (High) |
|
CVE-2024-51984 |
An authenticated attacker can disclose the password of a configured external service. |
6.8 (Medium) |
What’s next
Brother is urging customers to take immediate action by changing their default passwords and updating their printer firmware to protect against these vulnerabilities. Further details can be found on Brother’s product advisory pages and Rapid7’s disclosure site.