Hundreds of Brother printer models are affected by a critical, unpatchable vulnerability (CVE-2024-51978) that allows attackers to generate the default admin password using the device’s serial number—information that’s easily discoverable via other flaws.
748 total models across Brother, Fujifilm, Ricoh, Toshiba, and Konica Minolta are impacted, with millions of devices at risk globally.
Attackers can:
• Gain unauthenticated admin access
• Pivot to full remote code execution
• Exfiltrate credentials for LDAP, FTP, and more
• Move laterally through your network
Brother says the vulnerability cannot be fixed in firmware and requires a change in manufacturing. For now, mitigation = change the default admin password immediately.
Our pentest team regularly highlights printer security as a critical path to system compromise—and today’s news is another example that underscores this risk. This is your reminder: Printers are not “set-and-forget” devices. Treat them like any other endpoint—monitor, patch, and lock them down.
Need help testing your network for exploitable print devices? Contact us and our pentest team can help!
Read the Dark Reading article for more details on the Brother Printers vulnerability: https://www.darkreading.com/endpoint-security/millions-brother-printers-critical-unpatchable-bug
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