CVE-2025-4044
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 Restriction of XML External Entity Reference in various Lexmark printer drivers for Windows allows attacker to disclose sensitive information to an arbitrary URL.
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 confidenceCVE-2025-4044 is an XXE (XML External Entity) vulnerability in Lexmark printer drivers for Windows. The improper restriction of XML external entity references allows a crafted XML document to reference arbitrary URLs, enabling attackers to disclose sensitive information from the affected system or conduct SSRF attacks. This is a classic XXE injection flaw in the driver's XML parser.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
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
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/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.
-
Verify Lexmark printer driver installationOpen Windows Control Panel > Devices and Printers, or run 'Get-PrinterDriver' in PowerShell to list installed printer drivers. Look for Lexmark-named drivers.Affected if Any Lexmark printer driver is present on the system
-
Identify Lexmark driver versionIn PowerShell, run 'Get-PrinterDriver | Where-Object {$_.Name -like "*Lexmark*"} | Format-List *' to retrieve detailed driver version information. Compare the version against any Lexmark security advisories for CVE-2025-4044.Affected if The installed Lexmark driver version is unpatched or within an affected version range
-
Confirm XML processing is enabledCheck if the Lexmark driver has XML-related configuration. Look in the driver installation directory (typically C:\Windows\System32\spool\drivers\x64\ or C:\Program Files\Lexmark\) for XML parser components or configuration files that enable XML document processing.Affected if XML processing functionality is present and active in the driver
-
Monitor for suspicious XML-based network requestsUse Windows Event Viewer or network monitoring tools (such as Windows netsh trace or a third-party packet capture) to observe outgoing HTTP/HTTPS requests from printer driver processes. XXE exploits typically involve requests to arbitrary URLs specified in crafted XML.Affected if Unexpected or unauthorized XML-based HTTP requests are observed originating from printer driver services
A system is affected if it has an unpatched Lexmark printer driver for Windows with XML processing enabled, and suspicious XML-based outbound network requests are detected.
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 the vendor-provided patch or updated Lexmark printer drivers. Until patches are available, restrict driver file processing and monitor for suspicious XML-based network requests from printer driver services.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 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 $3,088.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-4044 — 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-2025-4044 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
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
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