Vulnerabilities in 689 Brother and other printer models (June 2025)

[German]Security researchers from Rapid 7 have looked closer at various multi feature printers for vulnerabilities. They found them in the firmware of 689 Brother printer models. However, some printers from other manufacturers are also vulnerable.

Security analysis by Rapid 7

Security researchers from Rapid 7 wanted to find out how secure various printers are. In a comprehensive analysis, they carried out a zero-day research project on multifunction printers (MFPs). Primarily models from the manufacturer Brother were examined, but several other manufacturers were also scrutinized.

This investigation led to the discovery of 8 new vulnerabilities (see table above. Vulnerability CVE-2024-51977 allows a remote, unauthenticated attacker to sniff the serial number of the target device along with several other sensitive pieces of information. Knowledge of the serial number of a target device is required to exploit the authentication bypass vulnerability CVE-2024-51978.

The authentication bypass vulnerability CVE-2024-51978 allows a remote, unauthenticated attacker to generate the default administrator password of the target device. The default password is generated during the manufacturing process by converting the device's unique serial number to the default password. CVE-2024-51977 allows an attacker to sniff a serial number via the HTTP, HTTPS and IPP services of the target device

Numerous printer models affected

Some or all of these vulnerabilities affect 689 models in Brother's range of printers, scanners and label printers. In addition are:

• 46 printer models from FUJIFILM Business Innovation,
• 5 printer models from Ricoh,
• 2 printer models from Toshiba Tec Corporation, and
• 6 models from Konica Minolta, Inc.

are affected by some or all of these vulnerabilities. In total, 748 models from 5 vendors are affected.

Rapid7, in collaboration with JPCERT/CC, has been working with Brother for the past thirteen months to coordinate the disclosure of these vulnerabilities. The details were disclosed by Rapid 7 in the post Multiple Brother Devices: Multiple Vulnerabilities (FIXED) (noticed here). The following seven vulnerabilities have been closed by firmware updates from the manufacturers:

• CVE-2024-51977
• CVE-2024-51979
• CVE-2024-51980
• CVE-2024-51981
• CVE-2024-51982
• CVE-2024-51983
• CVE-2024-51984

However, the vulnerability CVE-2024-51978 has not been addressed. The manufacturer has pointed out that this vulnerability in the firmware cannot be completely fixed and has instead provided a workaround in its security advisory. Users of the affected models should apply both the firmware updates provided by the manufacturer and the workarounds to address all 8 vulnerabilities. Further details can be found in the following manufacturer's notes:

• Brother Laser and Inkjet Printer Advisory
• Brother Document Scanner Advisory
• Brother Label Printer Advisory
• FUJIFILM Business Innovation Advisory
• Ricoh Advisory
• Toshiba Tec Corporation Advisory
• Konica Minolta, Inc. Advisory

Further details can be found in the linked Rapid7 blog post.