Microsoft’s Offensive Research and Security Engineering (MORSE) team has discovered a critical security vulnerability in Canon printer drivers that poses a significant threat to enterprise and consumer systems. The flaw, assigned CVE-2025-1268 with a severe CVSS score of 9.4, affects a wide range of Canon printing devices, including industrial printers, office multifunction devices, and laser printers.
Technical Analysis of the Vulnerability
The vulnerability stems from an out-of-bounds memory handling issue in EMF conversion processes across multiple Canon driver families. Affected drivers include Generic Plus PCL6, UFR II, LIPS4, LIPSXL, and PS versions 3.12 and earlier. This memory boundary violation creates a critical attack surface that could potentially allow unauthorized code execution with elevated privileges.
Impact Assessment and Attack Vectors
Security researchers have identified two primary attack scenarios that threat actors could exploit. The first involves disrupting printing operations, which could severely impact organizations relying on continuous printing capabilities. More critically, the second scenario enables arbitrary code execution during print processing, potentially leading to complete system compromise.
BYOVD Attack Implications
Of particular concern is the vulnerability’s potential exploitation through bring-your-own-vulnerable-driver (BYOVD) attacks. This sophisticated attack method allows malicious actors to leverage vulnerable drivers to bypass security controls and gain privileged system access, effectively circumventing modern security architectures.
Mitigation Strategies and Security Recommendations
Organizations using Canon printing devices should implement a multi-layered defense strategy to protect against this vulnerability. Essential steps include:
– Immediately updating all Canon printer drivers to versions newer than 3.12
– Implementing strict driver installation policies
– Deploying printer network activity monitoring
– Utilizing application control solutions to prevent unauthorized driver loading
– Regular security audits of printing infrastructure
The discovery of this vulnerability highlights the often-overlooked security risks in printer infrastructure. System administrators and security teams should prioritize the implementation of these security measures, as printer drivers with elevated privileges continue to be attractive targets for sophisticated cyber attacks. Organizations should also consider implementing zero-trust security principles for their printing infrastructure to minimize potential attack surfaces.
