CVE-2017-2742 in Web JetAdmin
Summary
by MITRE
A potential security vulnerability has been identified with HP Web Jetadmin before 10.4 SR2. This vulnerability could potentially be exploited to create a denial of service.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/01/2021
The vulnerability identified in HP Web Jetadmin versions prior to 10.4 SR2 represents a critical denial of service weakness that could severely impact networked printing environments. This issue stems from inadequate input validation mechanisms within the web administration interface, creating opportunities for malicious actors to disrupt legitimate printing operations. The vulnerability affects organizations that rely on HP Web Jetadmin for managing their print infrastructure, potentially compromising business continuity and operational efficiency. The flaw specifically manifests in how the system processes certain network requests, allowing attackers to craft malformed inputs that trigger unexpected behavior in the application's processing logic. This weakness operates at the application layer and can be exploited remotely without requiring authentication, making it particularly dangerous for environments where the web interface is accessible from external networks.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves improper handling of input parameters within the web administration component of HP Web Jetadmin. When the system receives specially crafted requests containing malformed data structures or unexpected parameter values, the application fails to properly validate or sanitize these inputs before processing them. This lack of robust input validation creates a condition where the processing logic encounters unexpected data types or structures that cause the application to crash or become unresponsive. The flaw can be classified under CWE-20, which specifically addresses "Improper Input Validation" and represents a fundamental weakness in how the application handles external data inputs. Attackers can leverage this vulnerability by sending carefully constructed requests that exploit the application's failure to properly validate incoming data, leading to system instability and denial of service conditions. The operational impact extends beyond simple service disruption as the vulnerability can affect multiple print jobs simultaneously, potentially causing cascading failures across interconnected printing systems.
From an operational perspective, the exploitation of this vulnerability can result in significant business disruption for organizations relying on HP Web Jetadmin for their print management infrastructure. The denial of service condition can prevent legitimate users from accessing the web administration interface, rendering critical management functions unavailable and potentially blocking print operations across the network. This vulnerability particularly affects enterprise environments where centralized print management is crucial for maintaining productivity and workflow efficiency. The impact extends to both internal and external network users who depend on the web interface for monitoring and controlling print devices, as well as to the print queue management systems that may become unresponsive. Organizations may experience cascading effects where the failure of the web administration interface impacts the overall stability of their print infrastructure, potentially requiring manual intervention to restore normal operations. The vulnerability's remote exploitability means that attackers can target affected systems from outside the organization's network perimeter, increasing the attack surface and making it more challenging to implement effective network segmentation controls.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should focus on immediate patch deployment and network-level protections. Organizations must urgently upgrade to HP Web Jetadmin version 10.4 SR2 or later, which contains the necessary fixes to address the input validation deficiencies. System administrators should also implement network segmentation controls to limit access to the web administration interface, ensuring that only authorized personnel can reach the vulnerable components. Additional protective measures include implementing web application firewalls to filter suspicious requests and monitoring network traffic for patterns indicative of exploitation attempts. The vulnerability's characteristics align with ATT&CK technique T1499, which covers "Network Denial of Service" and highlights the importance of securing application interfaces against malformed input attacks. Security teams should also conduct comprehensive vulnerability assessments to identify other potentially affected systems within their environment and implement regular patch management processes to prevent similar issues from arising in the future. Proper logging and monitoring configurations are essential to detect exploitation attempts and maintain visibility into the system's operational status during potential attack scenarios.