Before starting a discussion on security in detail, let's see an overview of networking with CUPS. CUPS as a print management system allows you to work on networking protocol TCP/IP. You can configure any network printer or print server using the TCP/IP protocol in CUPS. This network printer or printer server can be recognized using the IP address, which can be configured manually, or it can be configured automatically via network protocols such as BOOTP and DHCP.
Note
Bootstrap Protocol (BOOTP) is a UDP network protocol used by a network client to obtain its IP address automatically, while DHCP is a more advanced protocol that gives network information automatically to the clients. It can also handle BOOTP requests used to get network information automatically. Detailed information on this can be found at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynamic_Host_Configuration_Protocol
You can get more information on the TCP/IP functionality that CUPS supports as a backend from the following...