HP DeskJet 2800 Flaw Leaks Wi-Fi Direct Passwords: What to Do

If your business has an inexpensive HP DeskJet at the front desk, in a small branch office or in an employee's home office, last week's security news is worth five minutes. On July 6, the CERT Coordination Center (CERT/CC) published Vulnerability Note VU#828543, describing CVE-2026-13753, a flaw in HP DeskJet 2800 series printers. Anyone who can reach an affected printer over the network can read sensitive settings, including its Wi-Fi Direct password in plain text, without logging in.

When CERT/CC published the note, it said it had been unable to reach HP to coordinate and that no firmware fix was available. Here's what the flaw exposes, which printers are affected, and how to lock them down.

What is the HP DeskJet 2800 vulnerability?

It's a missing-authorization flaw in the printer's built-in web server. According to CERT/CC and the National Vulnerability Database, an attacker with network access doesn't need a password. They can send requests straight to the printer's back-end API endpoints and get sensitive configuration data back.

According to CERT/CC's note and coverage by CyberInsider, SC Media and Taiwan's iThome, what comes back includes:

• The Wi-Fi Direct network name and password, in plain text
• The SNMP configuration (SNMP is the protocol network tools use to monitor and manage devices)
• Device identity data, such as serial numbers and service IDs
• Details of the printer's administrative security settings

Which printers are affected?

HP DeskJet 2800 series printers running firmware TBP1CN2612AR or earlier, according to CERT/CC, CyberInsider and SC Media. The model number is printed on the printer itself, and the firmware version usually appears on the printer's configuration report or its web settings page.

If you're not sure whether you own one, walk the office rather than trusting the equipment list. Small inkjets are easy to buy on the spot, so they're easy to forget.

Why does a cheap inkjet matter to a business network?

Because it shares the network with everything else. Low-cost DeskJets end up where nobody thinks of them as IT equipment: the reception counter, the two-desk branch office, the spare room an employee works from. If one of those printers shares a network with guest devices or a compromised laptop, any of them can ask the printer for its settings.

The Wi-Fi Direct password is the headline. Wi-Fi Direct lets a phone or laptop connect straight to the printer without joining your office Wi-Fi, so that password is effectively the key to a side door: a direct wireless connection to the printer that bypasses your office Wi-Fi. Note that changing it doesn't help while the flaw is open, because the new password can be read the same way. Turning Wi-Fi Direct off does.

It's the same lesson as the Brother printer flaw we covered earlier this year: a printer's management features are a door into your network, and they need a lock. Our rundown of 10 ways your office printer could be hacked, and how to stop it covers the basics.

Is there a fix?

There wasn't one when the flaw went public. CERT/CC's note said HP could not be reached to coordinate and that a firmware patch was not yet available, and CyberInsider, SC Media and iThome reported the same.

Until a firmware fix is available and installed, protection has to come from how the printer is set up. Check HP's support page for your model regularly rather than waiting to hear about a fix in the news.

What does CERT/CC recommend?

CERT/CC's advice is to limit who can reach the printer and switch off what you don't use. Its mitigations, which CyberInsider and iThome repeated, are:

• Restrict access to the printer's web interface by placing it on a trusted or isolated network segment
• Disable Wi-Fi Direct if it isn't needed
• Limit SNMP to trusted systems, or disable it
• Use firewall or access-control rules to keep untrusted devices away from the printer's management ports

Turning off Wi-Fi Direct and SNMP needs no special equipment. For many small offices, the simplest first step is making sure the printer isn't on the guest network.

What this means for San Fernando Valley offices

Think about where your DeskJets actually sit. For example, a dental or medical office might keep one at the check-in window, on the same router that runs the waiting-room Wi-Fi. A real estate or insurance office might have one in a small branch where staff PCs, the printer and visitors all share one network. If your office offers guest Wi-Fi to patients or clients, make sure that network can't reach any printer.

Home offices deserve a look too. If employees print client or patient documents on a personal DeskJet, that printer sits on a home network full of phones, smart TVs and family laptops. It isn't your network, but it is your data. Our medical office printer guide covers the HIPAA side of printing, and cyber insurance is worth reviewing if printers aren't part of your security checklist yet.

What to do now

1. Find every HP DeskJet 2800-series printer your business relies on, including any at staff home offices that print business documents.
2. Check each one's firmware version against TBP1CN2612AR.
3. Turn off Wi-Fi Direct if nobody uses it. Don't just change the password.
4. Turn off SNMP if you don't use it, or limit it to trusted systems.
5. Move the printer off guest Wi-Fi and onto a network segment untrusted devices can't reach, and use firewall rules to keep them away from its management ports.
6. Check HP's support page for your model for new firmware, and install it as soon as it appears.
7. Reconsider the front-desk printer. Where a printer handles client or patient documents all day, a business-class model with manageable security settings is a better fit. Our recommended printers are a good place to start.

Want a second set of eyes on which printers are exposed on your network? Book a free virtual consultation and we'll walk through it with you.

Update (September 30, 2026)

HP says it has since released a fix. According to HP's security bulletin HPSBPI04148, dated August 31, 2026, HP has provided firmware updates, and firmware 001.2629A or later addresses the flaw. HP's bulletin lists a wider range of DeskJet All-in-One models than CERT/CC's original note, including Ink Advantage models. This fix information comes from HP itself, so check HP's bulletin for your exact model and the firmware version it lists, then download and install the latest firmware from HP's support site. Keep Wi-Fi Direct and SNMP turned off if you don't use them, even after updating.