HOMEVULNERABILITIESCVE-2004-2154
CRITICAL

CVE-2004-2154

CWE-178Published: December 31, 2004· Updated: Jun 16, 2026

9.8
CVSS v3.1

Official Description

CUPS before 1.1.21rc1 treats a Location directive in cupsd.conf as case sensitive, which allows attackers to bypass intended ACLs via a printer name containing uppercase or lowercase letters that are different from what is specified in the directive.

NVD Source

Technical Analysis

CVE-2004-2154 can be exploited remotely over the network without requiring physical or adjacent access, significantly expanding the attack surface for threat actors.

The vulnerability requires no privileges and no user interaction, making it a prime target for automated exploitation campaigns and worm-like propagation.

A successful exploit results in complete confidentiality breach (data exposure), full integrity compromise (data manipulation), availability disruption (denial of service), with a CVSS base score of 9.8.

CVSS v3.1 Vector Breakdown

Exploitability
Attack VectorNetwork
Attack ComplexityLow
Privileges Req.None
User InteractionNone
ScopeUnchanged
Impact
ConfidentialityHigh
IntegrityHigh
AvailabilityHigh
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Affected Vendors & Products

Apple1 product(s)
cups
Canonical1 product(s)
ubuntu linux
Source: NVD CPE · 3 total CPE entries

Exploit & PoC Resources

NO KNOWN EXPLOITNo public exploit confirmed at this time
Exploit-DB
Offensive Security exploit database
GitHub PoC Search
Community PoC repositories
Rapid7 / Metasploit
Metasploit module search
PacketStorm
Security advisories & exploits
NVD Detail
Official NIST entry
MITRE CVE
CVE Program entry
External links open in a new tab. Always verify in a controlled environment before use.

Official Patches & Advisories

PATCHhttp://www.cups.org/str.php?L700
PATCHhttp://www.cups.org/str.php?L700
ADVISORYhttp://www.ubuntu.com/usn/usn-185-1
ADVISORYhttps://bugzilla.redhat.com/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=162405
ADVISORYhttp://www.ubuntu.com/usn/usn-185-1
ADVISORYhttps://bugzilla.redhat.com/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=162405

All References (14)

→
http://www.cups.org/str.php?L700Broken Link · Patch
→
http://www.novell.com/linux/security/advisories/2005_18_sr.htmlBroken Link
→
http://www.redhat.com/support/errata/RHSA-2005-571.htmlBroken Link
→
http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/usn-185-1Third Party Advisory
→
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=162405Issue Tracking · Vendor Advisory
→
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=163274Issue Tracking
→
https://oval.cisecurity.org/repository/search/definition/oval%3Aorg.mitre.oval%3Adef%3A9940Broken Link
→
http://www.cups.org/str.php?L700Broken Link · Patch
→
http://www.novell.com/linux/security/advisories/2005_18_sr.htmlBroken Link
→
http://www.redhat.com/support/errata/RHSA-2005-571.htmlBroken Link
→
http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/usn-185-1Third Party Advisory
→
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=162405Issue Tracking · Vendor Advisory
→
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=163274Issue Tracking
→
https://oval.cisecurity.org/repository/search/definition/oval%3Aorg.mitre.oval%3Adef%3A9940Broken Link

Quick Facts

CVE IDCVE-2004-2154
CVSS Score9.8 / 10
SeverityCRITICAL
WeaknessCWE-178
CISA KEVNo
Affected2 vendor(s)
PublishedDec 31, 2004

Related CVEs (CWE-178)

CVE-2026-54763
10.0
CVE-2026-40453
9.9
CVE-2002-1820
9.8
CVE-2002-2119
9.8
CVE-2004-2214
9.8
CVE-2005-0269
9.8

Recommended Actions

  • →Apply vendor patches immediately
  • →Monitor CVE-2004-2154 in threat intel feeds
  • →Review IDS/IPS signatures for exploitation attempts
Data sourced from NVD (NIST), CISA KEV, and EPSS (FIRST). Analysis generated by CTIWATCH.COM. CVE data is provided under the NVD usage policy.
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