CVE-2010-0618 in Z2420
Summary
by MITRE
The flood-protection feature in the base, IPDS DLE, Forms DLE, Barcode DLE, Prescribe DLE, and Printcryption DLE components on certain Lexmark laser and inkjet printers and MarkNet devices allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (TCP outage) by making many passive FTP connections and then aborting these connections.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/03/2026
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2010-0618 affects Lexmark laser and inkjet printers along with MarkNet devices that incorporate specific DLE (Data Link Edition) components including base, IPDS, Forms, Barcode, Prescribe, and Printcryption modules. This flaw resides within the flood-protection mechanisms designed to safeguard these devices from excessive network traffic. The vulnerability represents a classic example of a resource exhaustion attack that exploits the device's connection handling capabilities. When multiple passive FTP connections are established and subsequently aborted, the system's ability to maintain normal network operations becomes severely compromised. The affected devices implement a flood-protection feature that is intended to prevent network flooding attacks, but this protection mechanism itself becomes a vector for denial of service when improperly configured or when the connection management logic fails to properly handle connection termination sequences.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from the improper handling of TCP connection states within the printer's network stack. When attackers establish numerous passive FTP connections and then abruptly terminate them, the device's TCP connection handling logic becomes overwhelmed with connection states that require cleanup. This results in a cascading effect where the system's network resources become saturated and the device experiences TCP outages that prevent legitimate network traffic from being processed. The flaw essentially creates a scenario where the very protection mechanism designed to defend against network flooding becomes the mechanism that enables the flooding attack. The vulnerability falls under the category of resource exhaustion attacks and can be mapped to CWE-400, which addresses unspecified resource exhaustion conditions that can lead to denial of service scenarios.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple network disruption to encompass complete service unavailability for affected devices. When the TCP outage occurs, users attempting to print documents or access printer functions experience immediate service degradation or complete failure of printer operations. Network administrators may find their print queues stalled and network management systems reporting connectivity issues with affected devices. The attack can be executed remotely without requiring physical access to the devices, making it particularly concerning for enterprise environments where multiple printers are connected to the network. This vulnerability effectively allows attackers to render critical printing infrastructure unusable, potentially disrupting business operations and forcing organizations to implement emergency workarounds or device reboots to restore service.
Organizations should implement multiple layers of mitigation strategies to address this vulnerability. Network segmentation can help limit the scope of potential attacks by isolating printer networks from critical business systems. Implementing rate limiting on FTP connections at network boundaries can prevent the rapid connection establishment patterns that trigger the vulnerability. Device firmware updates from Lexmark should be applied immediately to address the root cause of the issue, as the company likely released patches to modify the connection handling logic and improve the flood-protection mechanisms. Network monitoring solutions should be configured to detect unusual connection patterns and alert administrators to potential exploitation attempts. Additionally, implementing proper access controls and authentication mechanisms can help prevent unauthorized users from initiating the connection patterns that lead to exploitation, aligning with ATT&CK technique T1499.200 which addresses network denial of service through resource exhaustion attacks. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of proper connection state management and the potential for defensive mechanisms to become attack vectors when not properly implemented or tested.