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IprintApplication · Novell

CVE-2009-3176

HIGH · 9.3 CVSS v2.0 Published 2009-09-11
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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 · unedited
Buffer overflow in the ActiveX control in Novell iPrint Client 4.38 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (crash) and possibly execute arbitrary code via unknown attack vectors, as demonstrated by a certain module in VulnDisco Pack Professional 8.1, "Novell iPrint Client 4.38 ActiveX exploit." NOTE: as of 20090909, this disclosure has no actionable information. However, because the VulnDisco Pack author is a reliable researcher, the issue is being assigned a CVE identifier for tracking purposes.

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 confidence

Buffer overflow vulnerability in the ActiveX control of Novell iPrint Client 4.38 allows remote attackers to cause denial of service (crash) and potentially execute arbitrary code via unknown attack vectors. The vulnerability was demonstrated in VulnDisco Pack Professional but no actionable technical details were provided at the time of disclosure.

MitigationDisable the Novell iPrint ActiveX control in Internet Explorer security settings, or upgrade to a patched version of the client if available. Consider network-level controls to restrict iPrint traffic if the software cannot be immediately updated.

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
IprintApplication
Affected:= 4.38

CVSS 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
M
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
Complete
Integrity
Complete
Availability
Complete

AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Verify Novell iPrint Client installation
    Check for Novell iPrint Client in Add/Remove Programs (Programs and Features), or look for iPrint installation directories such as C:\Program Files\Novell\iPrint or C:\Program Files (x86)\Novell\iPrint
    Affected if Novell iPrint Client version 4.38 is listed as installed
  2. Confirm installed version number
    Right-click the iPrint client executable or DLL file, select Properties, and examine the Version tab. Alternatively, run 'wmic product get name,version' or check the registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Novell\iPrint or HKLM\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Novell\iPrint for the version value
    Affected if The version returned is exactly 4.38
  3. Identify the ActiveX control CLSID
    Search the Windows registry under HKCR\CLSID for entries containing 'iPrint' or 'novell' and the string 'ActiveX', or look for the specific CLSID associated with the iPrint ActiveX control (typically {...} GUID entries in HKLM\SOFTWARE\Classes\TypeLib or HKLM\SOFTWARE\Classes\CLSID)
    Affected if The ActiveX control CLSID is registered on the system, indicating the vulnerable component is present
  4. Verify IE ActiveX state for iPrint
    In Internet Explorer, go to Tools > Internet Options > Security > Custom Level, or manage ActiveX controls via Group Policy. Look for the Novell iPrint ActiveX control in the list of controls and check whether it is set to Enable or Prompt
    Affected if The iPrint ActiveX control is allowed to run (Enable or Prompt setting)

A system is affected if Novell iPrint Client version 4.38 is installed and the ActiveX control component is present and enabled in Internet Explorer.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Disable the Novell iPrint ActiveX control in Internet Explorer security settings, or upgrade to a patched version of the client if available. Consider network-level controls to restrict iPrint traffic if the software cannot be immediately updated.

Fix this in Iprint Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,970
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2009-3176 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

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What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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