CVE-2025-3078 is a medium-severity vulnerability identified in Canon Inc.'s imageRUNNER ADVANCE Series of production printers and multifunction office devices. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-522, which pertains to insufficiently protected credentials. Specifically, this passback vulnerability involves the improper protection or handling of credentials within the device, potentially allowing an attacker with high privileges to access sensitive authentication information. The CVSS 4.0 base score of 6.3 reflects a network attack vector (AV:N) with low attack complexity (AC:L), no required authentication (AT:N), but requiring high privileges (PR:H) on the device itself. There is no user interaction needed (UI:N), and the vulnerability does not impact confidentiality, integrity, or availability directly (VC:N, VI:N, VA:N), but it does affect security controls at a high scope (SC:H) and impacts system integrity (SI:H). The vulnerability affects all versions of the imageRUNNER ADVANCE Series, indicating a widespread exposure across Canon's product line. No patches have been released yet, and no known exploits are currently in the wild. The vulnerability was reserved in early April 2025 and published in mid-May 2025. The technical details suggest that the flaw lies in the way credentials are stored or transmitted internally, potentially allowing an attacker with existing high-level access to extract or misuse these credentials, which could lead to further compromise within an enterprise environment. Given the nature of multifunction printers as networked devices often integrated into corporate infrastructure, this vulnerability could serve as a pivot point for lateral movement or data exfiltration if exploited.

For European organizations, this vulnerability poses a significant risk due to the widespread use of Canon imageRUNNER ADVANCE devices in offices and production environments. Insufficiently protected credentials could allow attackers who have already gained elevated access—such as through compromised administrative accounts or insider threats—to extract authentication data from these devices. This could facilitate unauthorized access to sensitive print jobs, internal networks, or connected systems, potentially leading to data breaches or disruption of business operations. Since these devices often handle confidential documents, the exposure of credentials could undermine confidentiality and trust. Moreover, the high scope and system integrity impact indicate that exploitation could affect multiple components or services relying on these credentials. The lack of available patches increases the urgency for organizations to implement compensating controls. Given the network accessibility of these devices, attackers could leverage this vulnerability to move laterally within corporate networks, increasing the risk of broader compromise. The absence of known exploits in the wild currently reduces immediate risk but does not preclude future exploitation, especially as threat actors often target office infrastructure devices.

European organizations should implement several targeted mitigation strategies beyond generic advice: 1) Restrict administrative access to imageRUNNER ADVANCE devices by enforcing strict network segmentation and limiting management interfaces to trusted hosts only. 2) Employ strong authentication mechanisms for device management, including multi-factor authentication where supported, to reduce the risk of privilege escalation. 3) Monitor network traffic to and from these devices for unusual activity that may indicate credential harvesting attempts. 4) Regularly audit device configurations and logs to detect unauthorized access or changes. 5) Until official patches are released, consider disabling unnecessary services or features on the printers that handle credential storage or transmission. 6) Implement strict physical security controls to prevent insider threats or unauthorized physical access to the devices. 7) Engage with Canon support channels to obtain early access to patches or workarounds once available. 8) Educate IT and security teams about this vulnerability to ensure rapid response if exploitation attempts are detected. 9) Integrate these devices into the organization's vulnerability management and incident response processes to ensure timely mitigation and remediation.