# RUB-NDS/PRET

Printer Exploitation Toolkit - The tool that made dumpster diving obsolete.

Repository: https://github.com/RUB-NDS/PRET
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/pret
Homepage: http://hacking-printers.net
Language: Python
License: GPL-2.0
License Family: copyleft
Last push: 2024-08-02T01:18:28+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 32/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 0, release rhythm 35, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 3722, "days_push": 762, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: no_releases
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 4301, forks 655 (observed 2026-08-28T04:08:41.609568+00:00)

## What it is
PRET is a Python command-line toolkit for printer security testing that connects to devices via network (port 9100) or USB and exploits printer languages like PostScript, PJL, and PCL. It translates UNIX-like commands into printer language instructions, enabling attacks such as print job capture, file system access, memory access, and device manipulation.

## Use cases
- test printer security before attackers do
- capture or manipulate print jobs on a network printer
- access a printer's file system and memory
- fuzz printer languages like PostScript, PJL and PCL
- discover printers in a local subnet via SNMP
- cause denial-of-service or physical damage to a printer during authorized testing

## When to choose
- you are doing authorized penetration testing of printers
- you need to interact with printers via PostScript, PJL, or PCL
- you want a UNIX-like shell interface for printer attacks
- you need to audit print job retention, credential disclosure, or firmware update vulnerabilities

## When to avoid
- you need a general-purpose network vulnerability scanner
- your target devices are not printers or do not speak PostScript/PJL/PCL
- you require a GUI-based security tool
- you need actively maintained Python 3 support, since PRET requires Python 2

## Facets
- artifact type: cli-tool
- maturity: maintenance
- function: penetration-testing, security, cli, fuzzing
- domain: security, penetration-testing, hardware, developer-tools
- platform: windows, python, cli
- tags: printer-hacking, printer-security, postscript, pjl, pcl, pentest, hardware-security, linux, macos

## Member repositories
- RUB-NDS/PRET (main) score 32

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:08:41.609568+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-29T18:21:50.434518+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/RUB-NDS/PRET (fetched 2026-08-28T04:08:41.609568+00:00, sha d4b0344e63c9)
  - homepage: http://hacking-printers.net (fetched 2026-08-29T09:11:03.214733+00:00, sha d2309200bb9e)
  - site_page: http://hacking-printers.net/wiki/index.php?title=Hacking_Printers%3AAbout (fetched 2026-08-29T09:11:03.282687+00:00, sha c75a26b699f7)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.