CVE-2023-38556
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 · uneditedImproper input validation vulnerability in SEIKO EPSON printer Web Config allows a remote attacker to turned off the printer. [Note] Web Config is the software that allows users to check the status and change the settings of SEIKO EPSON printers via a web browser. Web Config is pre-installed in some printers provided by SEIKO EPSON CORPORATION. For the details of the affected product names/model numbers, refer to the information provided by the vendor.
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 confidenceImproper input validation in SEIKO EPSON printer Web Config allows remote attackers to send specially crafted requests that cause the printer to turn off, resulting in denial of service. The vulnerability resides in the web-based configuration interface which fails to properly validate user input before processing.
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 dataall versionsall 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
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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 printer modelAccess the printer's web configuration interface, check the printer's control panel display, or use network discovery tools (such as nmap, Bonjour/mDNS, or SNMP) to identify the exact model number (e.g., Epson EP-801A, EP-901F, PM-T960, etc.)Affected if The model matches any of the following: EP-801A, EP-802A, EP-901A, EP-901F, EP-902A, PA-TCU1, PM-T960, PM-T990
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Check Web Config statusLog into the printer's web interface or navigate to the network/settings menu on the printer's control panel to determine whether the Web Config (web-based management interface) feature is enabledAffected if Web Config is enabled and accessible over the network (this is the vulnerable component that processes the specially crafted requests)
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Verify firmware versionCheck the firmware version through the printer's web configuration interface (typically under Settings, Maintenance, or Information sections) or via the printer's control panelAffected if The firmware version is any version (all versions of the listed models are affected per the advisory)
You are affected if your printer model is one of the eight listed models (EP-801A, EP-802A, EP-901A, EP-901F, EP-902A, PA-TCU1, PM-T960, PM-T990) AND Web Config is enabled and accessible on 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 dataApply vendor-supplied firmware updates for affected printer models; until patches are available, restrict network access to Web Config or disable it if not needed.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-38556 — 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-2023-38556 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
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