CVE-2025-34196 affects Vasion Print Virtual Appliance Host versions prior to 25.1.102 and Windows client versions prior to 25.1.1413. The vulnerability arises from the inclusion of a hardcoded private key for the PrinterLogic Certificate Authority (CA) and hardcoded passwords within shipped configuration files such as clientsettings.dat and defaults.ini. These files are distributed with the Windows client and contain sensitive cryptographic material and credentials. An attacker who gains access to these files can impersonate the CA by using the private key to sign arbitrary certificates. This enables the attacker to conduct man-in-the-middle (MITM) attacks, intercept or decrypt TLS-protected communications between clients and servers, and potentially manipulate or impersonate network communications. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-798 (Use of Hard-coded Credentials) and CWE-522 (Insufficiently Protected Credentials). The CVSS 4.0 vector indicates the attack requires no privileges or user interaction and can be performed remotely over the network, with high impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The vendor has identified this as V-2022-001 but no patches or exploits are currently publicly available. The presence of hardcoded private keys in client-distributed files represents a severe cryptographic trust compromise, undermining the security model of the product and exposing organizations to advanced persistent threats and interception risks.

For European organizations, this vulnerability poses a significant risk to the confidentiality and integrity of sensitive print jobs and document workflows, especially in sectors such as government, finance, healthcare, and legal services where secure document handling is critical. Attackers exploiting this flaw can intercept or alter communications, potentially leading to data breaches, intellectual property theft, or disruption of printing services. The ability to impersonate the CA undermines trust in the entire certificate infrastructure of the product, enabling widespread man-in-the-middle attacks without detection. This could facilitate espionage, sabotage, or ransomware deployment by intercepting or manipulating print data or administrative communications. Given the criticality and ease of exploitation, organizations face potential regulatory compliance violations under GDPR if personal or sensitive data is compromised. The lack of authentication and user interaction requirements further increases the threat surface, making automated or large-scale exploitation feasible if attackers gain access to the vulnerable files.

Organizations should immediately inventory their deployments of Vasion Print Virtual Appliance Host and Windows clients to identify affected versions. Until patches are released, restrict access to all configuration files containing sensitive credentials by enforcing strict file system permissions and network segmentation to limit exposure. Employ endpoint detection and response (EDR) tools to monitor for unusual access patterns or attempts to extract configuration files. Consider deploying network-level TLS inspection with trusted certificates to detect anomalous certificate signing or MITM attempts. Engage with Vasion support to obtain timelines for patches or mitigations and apply updates promptly once available. Additionally, rotate any credentials or certificates associated with the affected CA to invalidate compromised keys. Implement strict logging and alerting on certificate validation failures or unexpected certificate authorities within the printing infrastructure. Educate IT and security teams about the risks of hardcoded credentials and enforce secure development lifecycle practices to prevent recurrence.