CVE-2025-2146: Critical Buffer Overflow Vulnerability in Multifunction Printers

Overview

The CVE-2025-2146 vulnerability represents a serious threat to the cybersecurity of small office multifunction and laser printers. Affecting a wide range of models sold in Japan, the United States, and Europe, this buffer overflow vulnerability has the potential to compromise systems or lead to data leakage. Cybersecurity experts are taking this vulnerability seriously, not only because of its high severity score of 9.8 but also due to the fact that multifunction printers are widely used in both small and large businesses worldwide.
This vulnerability matters because an attacker on the same network segment can exploit it to render the affected product unresponsive or to execute arbitrary code. This potentially allows the attacker to gain unauthorized access to sensitive data or even take control of the affected system. It is therefore crucial for businesses to understand this vulnerability and take immediate steps to mitigate it.

Vulnerability Summary

CVE ID: CVE-2025-2146
Severity: Critical (CVSS score: 9.8)
Attack Vector: Network
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Impact: System compromise, data leakage

Affected Products

Product | Affected Versions

Satera MF656Cdw | firmware v05.07 and earlier
Color imageCLASS MF656Cdw | firmware v05.07 and earlier
i-SENSYS MF657Cdw | firmware v05.07 and earlier
… | …

How the Exploit Works

This buffer overflow vulnerability occurs in the WebService Authentication processing of the affected printers. A buffer overflow is a type of software vulnerability that occurs when too much data is loaded into a buffer – a temporary storage location in the system’s memory. When the buffer is filled beyond its capacity, the excess data spills over into adjacent memory locations, potentially overwriting important data or causing the system to crash.
In this case, an attacker can send specially crafted data packets to the printer, causing the buffer overflow in the WebService Authentication processing. This can trigger the printer to become unresponsive or allow the attacker to execute arbitrary code.

Conceptual Example Code

Here is a conceptual example of how an attacker might exploit this vulnerability using a malicious payload in an HTTP POST request:

POST /WebService/Authentication HTTP/1.1
Host: target_printer_ip
Content-Type: application/octet-stream
{ "username": "admin", "password": "A" * 1000000 }

In this example, the “A” * 1000000 represents a large amount of data that exceeds the buffer’s capacity, leading to a buffer overflow. This is a simplified example and the actual exploit would likely involve more complex and specific data.