Are Your Brother Printers Dangerously Vulnerable to These Critical Security Flaws?

How Can 748 Printer Models Leave Your Business Exposed to Devastating Cyber Attacks?

I need to tell you about something serious that affects millions of printers worldwide. Security experts at Rapid7 found major problems with Brother printers and other brands. This discovery affects your office and home security in ways you might not expect.

What I Found Out About These Printer Problems

The security team at Rapid7 spent over a year studying multifunction printers. They wanted to see how safe these devices really are. What they found was troubling.

Eight new security holes were found in Brother devices. But here's what makes this worse - these problems also affect printers from other big companies like Fujifilm, Ricoh, Toshiba, and Konica Minolta.

The Numbers That Should Worry You

Let me break down exactly how big this problem is:

• 689 Brother printer models are affected
• 46 Fujifilm Business Innovation models
• 5 Ricoh models
• 2 Toshiba Tec Corporation models
• 6 Konica Minolta models

That's 748 different printer models from 5 major companies. If you have a printer in your office or home, there's a good chance it might be one of these.

The Most Dangerous Problem

The worst security hole is called CVE-2024-51978. This one got a critical rating of 9.8 out of 10. Here's why this scares me:

An attacker can figure out your printer's admin password just by knowing its serial number. The password gets created during manufacturing using a simple formula. Once someone has your serial number, they can calculate your default password.

Even worse, attackers can get your printer's serial number remotely using another security hole (CVE-2024-51977). They don't need to be in your building or touch your printer.

What Attackers Can Do

Once someone gets into your printer as an admin, they can:

• Change all your printer settings
• See documents you've scanned
• Access your address books
• Use your printer to attack other devices on your network
• Steal passwords for other services
• Make your printer crash or stop working

The Problem That Can't Be Fixed

Here's what really concerns me about CVE-2024-51978. Brother says they cannot fix this problem with a software update. The issue is built into how they make their printers.

Brother had to change their entire manufacturing process. Only new printers made with the new process will be truly safe. If you have an older printer, you're stuck with workarounds.

What You Need to Do Right Now

I recommend you take these steps immediately:

Step 1: Change Your Admin Password

1. Log into your printer's web interface
2. Find the admin settings
3. Change the default password to something strong and unique

Step 2: Update Your Firmware

1. Check if Brother has released updates for your model
2. Download and install the latest firmware
3. This fixes 7 out of 8 security problems

Step 3: Apply Workarounds

Based on Brother's guidance, you should also:

1. Disable the WSD function if possible
2. Turn off TFTP services
3. Use your printer behind a firewall

Which Vulnerabilities Got Fixed

Brother released firmware updates that fix these problems:

• CVE-2024-51977 (information leaks)
• CVE-2024-51979 (buffer overflow attacks)
• CVE-2024-51980 (forced TCP connections)
• CVE-2024-51981 (arbitrary HTTP requests)
• CVE-2024-51982 (device crashes)
• CVE-2024-51983 (more device crashes)
• CVE-2024-51984 (password theft)

How This Affects Your Business

If you run a business, this situation creates real risks. Attackers could:

• Access confidential documents you've scanned
• Use your printers to move through your network
• Steal customer information from address books
• Disrupt your operations by crashing printers

Timeline of the Discovery

Rapid7 started working on this research in May 2024. They worked with Brother and JPCERT/CC for over a year to coordinate fixes. The public announcement came in June 2025.

This long timeline shows how serious and complex these problems are. It took months of careful work to understand and address them.

My Recommendation

I strongly advise you to check if your printers are affected. Visit the manufacturer websites for detailed lists of vulnerable models. Don't wait - change your admin passwords today, even before you install firmware updates.

The password generation flaw (CVE-2024-51978) cannot be completely fixed on existing devices. This means your printer will always have some level of risk unless you replace it with a newer model made after Brother changed their manufacturing process.

Remember, printers often get forgotten in security planning. But as this research shows, they can be just as dangerous as any other network device when compromised.