CVE-2024-51978VulnerabilityPublished 25 Jun 2025Updated 30 Mar 2026

CVE-2024-51978: Brother Industries DCP-J928N-W/B · Use of Weak Credentials

Affects Brother Industries DCP-J928N-W/BSource CVE Database V5

Mentioned vulnerabilities

CVE-2024-51977

Not known to be exploited · public exploit available (Metasploit) · 15% EPSS · CVSS 9.8 Critical.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 06:26 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

9.8Critical

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 15.8% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 96% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: High
Integrity: High
Availability: High

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable component is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed 'remotely exploitable' and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: None: The attacker is unauthorized prior to attack, and therefore does not require any access to settings or files to carry out an attack.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.
Scope: Unchanged: An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are either the same, or both are managed by the same security authority.
Confidentiality: High: There is total loss of confidentiality, resulting in all resources within the impacted component being divulged to the attacker. Alternatively, access to only some restricted information is obtained, but the disclosed information presents a direct, serious impact.
Integrity: High: There is a total loss of integrity, or a complete loss of protection. For example, the attacker is able to modify any/all files protected by the impacted component. Alternatively, only some files can be modified, but malicious modification would present a direct, serious consequence to the impacted component.
Availability: High: There is total loss of availability, resulting in the attacker being able to fully deny access to resources in the impacted component; this loss is either sustained (while the attacker continues to deliver the attack) or persistent (the condition persists even after the attack has completed). Alternatively, the attacker has the ability to deny some availability, but the loss of availability presents a direct, serious consequence to the impacted component (e.g., the attacker cannot disrupt existing connections, but can prevent new connections; the attacker can repeatedly exploit a vulnerability that, in each instance of a successful attack, leaks a only small amount of memory, but after repeated exploitation causes a service to become completely unavailable).

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 25 Jun 2025
Detectable: evidence found.
nuclei template: Brother Printers – Authentication Bypass via Default Admin Password
Weaponised: evidence found.
1 Metasploit module
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 2026-10-26.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
Brother Industries, Ltd DCP-J928N-W/B	Affected =1.0	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

To mitigate CVE-2024-51978 effectively, organizations should implement the following specific measures: 1) Immediately isolate affected Brother DCP-J928N-W/B printers on a dedicated VLAN or network segment with strict access controls to limit exposure to untrusted networks. 2) Disable or restrict access to management protocols (HTTP, HTTPS, IPP, PJL, SNMP) from outside trusted administrative networks. 3) Monitor network traffic for unusual requests targeting printer management interfaces or serial number enumeration attempts. 4) Change default credentials if possible, or implement additional authentication layers such as network-level authentication or VPN access for printer management. 5) Employ network intrusion detection/prevention systems (IDS/IPS) with signatures tuned to detect exploitation attempts related to this vulnerability. 6) Maintain an inventory of all affected devices and track vendor communications for patch releases or firmware updates addressing this issue. 7) Consider replacing vulnerable devices in high-risk environments if no timely patch is available. 8) Educate IT staff about this vulnerability to ensure rapid response to suspicious activity. These targeted actions go beyond generic advice by focusing on network segmentation, protocol restrictions, and active monitoring tailored to the vulnerability's exploitation vectors.

Description

An unauthenticated attacker who knows the target device's serial number, can generate the default administrator password for the device. An unauthenticated attacker can first discover the target device's serial number via CVE-2024-51977 over HTTP/HTTPS/IPP, or via a PJL request, or via an SNMP request.

Impact

The impact of CVE-2024-51978 is severe for organizations worldwide using the affected Brother printer model. An attacker gaining administrative access can compromise the confidentiality of sensitive print jobs, intercept or alter documents, and disrupt printing services, affecting business operations. The integrity of device configurations can be undermined, potentially allowing persistent backdoors or malicious firmware modifications. Availability may be impacted through denial-of-service conditions or device misconfiguration. Furthermore, compromised printers can serve as pivot points for attackers to infiltrate internal networks, escalating the threat to broader IT infrastructure. Organizations in sectors such as government, healthcare, finance, and critical infrastructure are particularly vulnerable due to the sensitive nature of printed information and the strategic value of network access. The lack of authentication and ease of serial number enumeration exacerbate the risk, enabling widespread exploitation without sophisticated attack methods. The absence of patches increases exposure time, making proactive mitigation essential to prevent potential breaches and operational disruptions.

Summary

CVE-2024-51978 is a critical security vulnerability affecting Brother Industries, Ltd's DCP-J928N-W/B printer, version 1.0. The vulnerability arises from the use of weak default credentials that can be deterministically generated by an attacker who knows the device's serial number. The serial number itself can be retrieved unauthenticated via multiple protocols such as HTTP, HTTPS, IPP, PJL, or SNMP, as described in the related CVE-2024-51977. This chain of vulnerabilities allows an unauthenticated remote attacker to gain administrative access to the printer without any user interaction or prior privileges. Once administrative access is obtained, the attacker can manipulate device settings, intercept print jobs, exfiltrate sensitive information, or use the printer as a foothold for lateral movement within the network. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-1391 (Use of Weak Credentials), indicating a fundamental flaw in credential management. The CVSS v3.1 base score of 9.8 highlights the critical nature of this issue, with attack vector network (AV:N), low attack complexity (AC:L), no privileges required (PR:N), no user interaction (UI:N), and high impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability (C:H/I:H/A:H). No patches or official mitigations have been released at the time of publication, and no exploits have been observed in the wild, though the ease of exploitation suggests a high likelihood of future attacks. This vulnerability poses a significant risk to organizations relying on this printer model, especially in environments where printers are connected to sensitive networks or handle confidential documents.

Metasploit modules

Multiple Brother devices authentication bypass via default administrator password generationauxiliary · Normal (opens in a new tab)

Nuclei detection templates

Brother Printers – Authentication Bypass via Default Admin Passwordcritical (opens in a new tab)

Public tooling indexed from Metasploit Framework, Exploit-DB and ProjectDiscovery nuclei-templates. Its existence raises the odds of exploitation; it does not confirm attacks.

CWE-1391Use of Weak Credentials (opens in a new tab)
Class weaknessOWASP Top 10 A07:2025: Authentication Failures (opens in a new tab)
The product uses weak credentials (such as a default key or hard-coded password) that can be calculated, derived, reused, or guessed by an attacker.
Architecture and Design · Operation
When the user changes or sets a password, check the password against a database of already compromised or breached passwords. These passwords are likely to be used in password guessing attacks.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
OWASP Authentication (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V2.8.5 (opens in a new tab)
V2.8.4 (opens in a new tab)
V9.2.3 (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

Community reviews

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 30 Mar 2026, 18:53 UTC

Public exploits and detection1 Metasploit module, a Nuclei detection template

WeaknessesCWE-1391

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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