CVE-2018-5923
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 · uneditedIn HP LaserJet Enterprise, HP PageWide Enterprise, HP LaserJet Managed, and HP OfficeJet Enterprise Printers, solution application signature checking may allow potential execution of arbitrary code.
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 confidenceThis vulnerability in HP LaserJet Enterprise, PageWide Enterprise, LaserJet Managed, and OfficeJet Enterprise printers allows attackers to bypass signature verification on solution applications (firmware plugins/add-ons), potentially enabling remote code execution. The flaw likely stems from improper validation of cryptographic signatures before allowing installation of solution packages.
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< 2308974_579754< 2308974_579753< 2406087_000017< 2406087_000017< 2406087_000017< 2308974_579763< 2308974_579763< 2406048_029632< 2308974_579770CVSS 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
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
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 the printer modelCheck the printer label, web interface (usually http://<printer-ip>), or print a configuration page from the device control panel to determine the exact model number (e.g., HP Color LaserJet Enterprise M553, HP Color LaserJet Cm4540 Mfp)Affected if The printer model matches one of the affected models listed in the CVE (Color LaserJet Cm4540 Mfp, Cp5525, Flow MFP M681f/z, M682z, Enterprise M552, M553, M651)
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Retrieve the installed firmware versionAccess the printer web interface under the 'General' or 'Information' tab, or print a configuration/status page from the control panel. Look for a firmware version number (e.g., 2308974_579754)Affected if The firmware version is lower than the version thresholds specified for your model (e.g., for M553: < 2308974_579763, for Cm4540: < 2308974_579754)
Your environment is affected if you have one of the listed HP printer models AND the installed firmware version is below the specified threshold for that model, allowing unsigned or improperly signed solution applications to be installed.
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.
dbcve · scoped2308974_5797532308974_5797542308974_579763
Apply HP firmware updates when available; disable untrusted solution application loading if possible; network segment printers and restrict access to printer management interfaces.
For Color Laserjet Cm4540 Mfp: firmware version 2308974_579754 or later; for Color Laserjet Cp5525: version 2308974_579753 or later; for Color Laserjet Enterprise Flow Mfp M681f/z and M682z: version 2406087_000017 or later; for Color Laserjet Enterprise M552/M553: version 2308974_579763 or later; fo
- 1. Identify your exact HP LaserJet printer model from the affected products list
- 2. Navigate to HP Support (support.hp.com) and locate the drivers and downloads page for your specific printer model
- 3. Download the latest firmware update from HP's official support site
- 4. Access the printer's embedded web server (EWS) by entering the printer's IP address in a web browser
- 5. Login to the EWS with administrator credentials
- 6. Navigate to the General or Firmware Update section
- 7. Select the downloaded firmware file and initiate the update
- 8. Wait for the firmware update to complete - do not power off the printer during this process
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-5923 — 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-2018-5923 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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- 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