CVE-2021-3821
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 · uneditedA potential security vulnerability has been identified for certain HP multifunction printers (MFPs). The vulnerability may lead to Denial of Service when running HP Workpath solutions on potentially affected products.
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 confidenceA Denial of Service vulnerability in HP Workpath solutions running on certain HP multifunction printers (MFPs). The CVSS 9.8 score indicates network-exploitable, low-complexity attacks requiring no privileges or user interaction, causing complete availability loss.
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< 5.3CVSS 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:3.1/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 HP multifunction printer modelInventory network devices or access device management interface to confirm the device is an HP MFP modelAffected if The device is an HP multifunction printer (MFP)
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Verify HP Workpath is enabledCheck the device configuration or management interface for the HP Workpath service statusAffected if HP Workpath is installed and running on the device
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Check HP Futuresmart versionAccess the device system information or firmware management section to retrieve the installed Futuresmart OS version numberAffected if Futuresmart version is present and below 5.3 (for example, 5.2.x, 5.1.x, etc.)
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Confirm network exposureDetermine if the MFP is directly accessible on the network without isolation or firewall controlsAffected if The device is network-accessible without segmentation or additional access controls
You are affected if you have an HP MFP running HP Workpath with Futuresmart version lower than 5.3 and the device is network-connected.
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 · scoped5.3
Apply HP firmware updates when available; if no patch exists, consider disabling HP Workpath services or isolating affected MFPs on network segments to reduce attack surface.
Futuresmart 5.3
- Access the printer's control panel or embedded web server to identify the current Futuresmart firmware version
- Navigate to HP support website (support.hp.com) and locate the firmware download for your specific HP MFP model
- Download the Futuresmart 5.3 firmware update package
- Log into the printer's embedded web server as administrator
- Locate the Firmware Update section in the administration settings
- Upload and apply the Futuresmart 5.3 firmware file
- Allow the printer to complete the update process and restart
- Verify the firmware version displays as 5.3 or later after the update completes
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,600.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-3821 — 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-2021-3821 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