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OpenPrinting CUPS EUVDEUVD-2026-95470

| CVE-2026-107886 MEDIUM
Double Free (CWE-415)
2026-10-09 mitre GHSA-39g6-9jhp-qp3g
6.5
CVSS 3.1 · NVD
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Attack ChainAIDerived

Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain

  1. Access
    Authenticate as @SYSTEM class admin
  2. Delivery
    Send CUPS-Add-Modify-Class with failing validation
  3. Exploit
    Leave dangling pclass->printers pointer
  4. Execution
    Send CUPS-Delete-Class to free again
  5. Impact
    Crash scheduler, printing-wide DoS

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
ASVS 5.0
V15 - Secure Coding and Architecture Double free prevention
Exploitation Conditions

Exploitation requires an actor authorized to both modify and delete printer classes; under CUPS's default policy this means @SYSTEM (administrative) privileges, which is the primary limiting factor. The specific trigger is a CUPS-Add-Modify-Class operation that replaces an existing class's member list and then fails subsequent validation (leaving pclass->printers as a dangling pointer), followed by a CUPS-Delete-Class operation that frees the same allocation a second time in cupsdDeletePrinter(). Impact is limited to denial of service (scheduler crash); there is no confidentiality or integrity effect. Only CUPS versions before 2.4.20 are affected. No special non-default configuration is needed beyond having class-management authorization, though whether the attack is reachable remotely depends on the CUPS listener/access configuration.

Impact

This is a genuinely low-priority issue whose signals are internally consistent. The provided CVSS of 2.3 (CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L) correctly reflects a denial-of-service-only impact (A:L, with C:N/I:N) gated behind high privileges (PR:H) - matching the description's explicit statement that the default policy requires @SYSTEM privileges to modify and delete printer classes. There is no EPSS score, no CISA KEV listing, and no public exploit code referenced, so exploitation probability signals are all absent or negative; the only reference is the vendor GHSA advisory. One signal conflict must be verified: the input CVSS encodes AV:L (local), yet the description describes 'a client authorized to modify and delete classes' issuing CUPS-Add-Modify-Class and CUPS-Delete-Class operations, which are IPP requests that CUPS can service over the network - verify with the vendor whether the attack surface is truly local-only or network-reachable, as this materially changes the attack vector. Even under the broader network interpretation, the @SYSTEM privilege requirement and availability-only impact keep real-world risk low: an attacker who already holds CUPS administrative rights can crash the scheduler, which is a self-inflicted or insider/post-compromise scenario rather than a remotely-weaponizable flaw. No SSVC decision data was provided. Net: a high-prevalence product but a low-severity, high-privilege DoS - patch in normal maintenance cycles, not an emergency.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

An attacker who already holds CUPS class-administration rights (@SYSTEM under the default policy) sends a CUPS-Add-Modify-Class request that replaces an existing class's member list but is crafted so subsequent validation fails, leaving a dangling pointer. The attacker then issues CUPS-Delete-Class, triggering a double-free in cupsdDeletePrinter() that crashes the scheduler and halts all printing service-wide. No public exploit code was identified at time of analysis.

This Month Plan within 30 days. Why: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9).
Patch available 0.1% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAIv1 – Oct 09, 2026

Denial of service in OpenPrinting CUPS before 2.4.20 lets an actor holding @SYSTEM-level class-management privileges crash the cupsd scheduler by triggering a double-free in printer-class handling. The actor submits a CUPS-Add-Modify-Class request that replaces an existing class's member list and then fails subsequent validation, leaving pclass->printers as a dangling pointer, then issues a CUPS-Delete-Class request so cupsdDeletePrinter() frees the same allocation a second time. Impact is confined to availability (scheduler crash) with no confidentiality or integrity effect, and no public exploit identified at time of analysis - the @SYSTEM privilege prerequisite (PR:H) is the dominant limiting factor, keeping overall risk low even though the assessed vector is network-reachable (AV:N/AC:H) when the CUPS listener is exposed.

RemediationAI

Vendor-released patch: upgrade to OpenPrinting CUPS 2.4.20 or later, the release that closes the affected "before 2.4.20" range, and confirm the cupsd process is restarted after the upgrade; details are in the vendor advisory at https://github.com/OpenPrinting/cups/security/advisories/GHSA-pwg4-pv39-8c22. If immediate upgrade is not possible, the most effective compensating control is to narrow IPP class-management authority: edit cupsd.conf so the CUPS-Add-Modify-Class and CUPS-Delete-Class operations are removed from the @SYSTEM <Limit> blocks (or restricted to a smaller, dedicated group), which breaks the preconditions of both the dangling-pointer creation and the second free - the trade-off is that legitimate administrators can no longer manage classes through IPP clients and must edit classes.conf and restart cupsd instead. Secondarily, reduce reachability by binding cupsd to localhost or an internal interface (Listen localhost:631, WebInterface off, and restricting Allow/Deny or the newer Listen/Access directives), since the assessed vector becomes network-reachable only when the scheduler is exposed; the trade-off is loss of remote printing and remote administration. Note that because exploitation requires high privileges (PR:H, @SYSTEM by default), these measures are hardening rather than urgent, and no public exploit code was identified at the time of analysis.

Affected VersionsENISA

cups 1.4.8 <2.4.20

Affected Packages

euvd cups fix: 2.4.20

Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)

Affects your stack

Affects 1 package in euvd

Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.

Technical ContextAI · show details

CUPS (Common UNIX Printing System) is the standard Unix/Linux printing subsystem; its scheduler daemon, cupsd, exposes IPP operations including the CUPS-Add-Modify-Class and CUPS-Delete-Class extensions used to manage printer classes (named groups of member printers). The defect is a classic double-free (CWE-415) in the class-management path: when CUPS-Add-Modify-Class replaces an existing class's member list, add_class() frees the old pclass->printers allocation but does not clear the pointer, so if the request subsequently fails validation the class object retains a dangling pointer to freed memory. A later CUPS-Delete-Class for that class calls cupsdDeletePrinter(), which frees the same allocation again, corrupting the heap and destabilizing the scheduler. Because the trigger is a failed-validation edge case reachable only by a client already authorized to modify and delete classes, the practical precondition is administrative authority; under CUPS's default policy this maps to membership in @SYSTEM, and the CPE entry cpe:2.3:a:openprinting:cups:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* confirms the entire pre-2.4.20 product line is in scope. Vendor scoring (CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H, 2.3) and this assessment (AV:N/AC:H/PR:H, same low availability-only impact) differ only in how the request reaches cupsd - locally versus over an exposed listener - not in the underlying privilege requirement or impact class.

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Severity by source

Vendor (mitre) PRIMARY LOW
NVD 6.5 MEDIUM
AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H
vuln.today AI 2.2 LOW

CUPS class operations are IPP requests so AV:N is more honest than the input's AV:L; the required modify-then-failed-validation-then-delete sequence warrants AC:H, @SYSTEM gives PR:H, and impact is availability-only.

3.1 AV:N/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L
4.0 AV:N/AC:H/AT:N/PR:H/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
Red Hat 2.3 LOW

Primary rating from Vendor (mitre).

CVSS VectorNVD

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
High
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
High
Availability
High

Lifecycle Timeline

4
Severity Changed
Oct 20, 2026 - 21:07 NVD
LOW MEDIUM
CVSS changed
Oct 20, 2026 - 21:07 NVD
2.3 (LOW) 6.5 (MEDIUM)
Patch available
Oct 09, 2026 - 05:01 EUVD
CVE Published
Oct 09, 2026 - 04:00 cve.org
LOW 2.3

DescriptionNVD

OpenPrinting CUPS before 2.4.20 contains a double-free in printer-class management. When CUPS-Add-Modify-Class replaces an existing class member list, add_class() frees pclass->printers without clearing the pointer. If subsequent validation fails, the class retains the dangling pointer; CUPS-Delete-Class subsequently frees the same allocation in cupsdDeletePrinter(). A client authorized to modify and delete classes can cause scheduler-wide denial of service. The default policy requires @SYSTEM privileges.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.1%
Top 99% exploitable
Prevalence
Ubiquitous
CUPS is the default printing subsystem across Linux, macOS, and Unix
Data Quality
7 sources
Confidence: High
EUVD NVD CVE.org EPSS Vulnrichment MSRC Vendor GitHub VulDB

How this decision was reached

The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.

SignalValue
Severity MEDIUM
CISA KEV No
Public POC No
EPSS 0.1%
Patch available Yes
Active threat No
Deciding rule
MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9)
What every action level means
Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.
Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.
This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.
This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.
Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision· derived
Scheduled
Exploitation
Poc
System Exposure· derived
Open
Automatable
No
Human Impact· derived
High
Technical Impact
Partial

Priority Score

32
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: 0
CVSS: +32
PoC: 0
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

Denial of Service attacks render applications or systems unavailable by overwhelming resources or triggering failure conditions.

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Vendor StatusVendor

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