Canon reminds users of home, office, and large format inkjet printers of potential Wi-Fi security risks associated with discarding these devices.
The Wi-Fi connection settings stored in a printers’ memory may remain intact, leaving users vulnerable to unauthorized access.
The stored information varies depending on the Canon printer model and configuration but typically includes network SSID, password, network type (such as WPA3 or WEP), assigned IP address, MAC address, and network profile.
Exposure of this confidential Wi-Fi connection data could enable malicious actors to gain unauthorized access to the user’s network to which the printer was connected. Subsequently, attackers could exploit this access to retrieve shared resources, compromise data integrity, or launch further privacy-infringing attacks by exploiting additional vulnerabilities.
The scope of impacted Canon printers is extensive, including 196 Canon models across inkjet, business inkjet, and large-format inkjet printer series, including E, G, GX, iB, iP, MB, MG, MX, PRO, TR, TS, and XK series.
To assist users in determining whether their printer models are affected by this data retention issue, the vendor last year released a document for reference.
Canon recommends that owners of affected printers take proactive measures to erase their Wi-Fi settings before allowing any third party access to the device. This precaution is especially crucial during scenarios such as device repairs or when transferring ownership by selling or gifting the printer to another individual.
Canon’s according security advisory provides the following instructions on wiping Wi-FI settings:
- Reset all settings (Reset settings ‐> Reset all)
- Enable the wireless LAN
- Reset all settings one more time
For models that do not have the ‘Reset all’ function in the settings menu, users are advised to follow these steps instead:
- Reset LAN settings
- Enable the wireless LAN
- Reset LAN settings one more time
If these instructions are not applicable to your printer model, Canon recommends referring to the operation manual that came with your device.
Another good security precaution would be to keep printers on networks isolated from valuable assets so that attackers won’t be able to access important devices even if that network is compromised.
Alos apply available firmware updates for your printer model, and turn off services such as cloud printing or remote management interfaces if they’re not needed.