CVE-2004-2439
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedThe remote upgrade capability in HP LaserJet 4200 and 4300 printers does not require a password, which allows remote attackers to upgrade firmware.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · moderate confidenceHP LaserJet 4200 and 4300 printers contain a remote firmware upgrade feature that lacks authentication, allowing any remote attacker to upload and install arbitrary firmware without providing credentials.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data= 4650= 5500= 5550all versionsall versionsall versionsall versionsall versionsall versionsall versionsCVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- Partial
- Availability
- None
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:P/A:N
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify affected printer models on your networkScan your network inventory or use network discovery tools to find HP LaserJet or Color LaserJet printers. Check the model numbers against: HP Color LaserJet 4650, 5500, 5550, 4600 (all versions), HP LaserJet 2500, 3000, 3700, 4100 MFP, 4200, 4300 (all versions).Affected if Any of these specific printer models are present on your network
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Determine if web management interface is exposedCheck if the printer web management interface is accessible over HTTP or HTTPS. Attempt to access the printer IP on common web ports (80, 443, 8080). The firmware upgrade feature is typically accessed through the embedded web server on these devices.Affected if The printer web management interface is reachable from network segments where unauthorized users could access it
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Verify remote firmware upgrade feature accessibilityCheck whether the printer firmware upgrade functionality is exposed and reachable. This is typically found in the printer web interface under settings, administration, or firmware update sections.Affected if The remote firmware upgrade capability is accessible without requiring authentication credentials
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Assess network exposure of the deviceReview firewall rules, ACLs, and network segmentation to determine if the printer management interfaces are accessible from untrusted network segments or the internet.Affected if The printer management interfaces are not restricted by network filters and can be accessed from untrusted hosts
You are affected if any HP LaserJet or Color LaserJet model listed above has its remote firmware upgrade interface accessible without authentication from your network.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor dataRestrict network access to printer management interfaces using firewalls or ACLs, or isolate affected devices on a dedicated VLAN. If available, apply HP firmware updates that address this authentication bypass.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2004-2439 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2004-2439 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.
- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data