CVE-2026-24061: GNU InetUtils Argument Injection Vulnerability
Critical · CVSS 9.8 (CVSS 3.1)KEV known exploitedEPSS 99.0%, 100th percentilePublished Updated Assigner: mitre
In CISA’s Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog: GNU InetUtils Argument Injection Vulnerability.
Added , federal remediation due . Known ransomware use: Unknown.
Required action: Apply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.
Description
telnetd in GNU Inetutils through 2.7 allows remote authentication bypass via a "-f root" value for the USER environment variable.
Vector CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H · CWE-88
Status incidents that name it
No tracked status incident names this CVE.
Affected vendors and products
GNU: Inetutils
References
- CVE record on cve.org (opens in new tab)
- NVD entry (opens in new tab)
- codeberg.org/inetutils/inetutils/commit/ccba9f748aa8d50a38d7748e2e60362edd6a32cc (opens in new tab)
- codeberg.org/inetutils/inetutils/commit/fd702c02497b2f398e739e3119bed0b23dd7aa7b (opens in new tab)
- lists.gnu.org/archive/html/bug-inetutils/2026-01/msg00004.html (opens in new tab)
- redteam.ae/blog/cve-2026-24061-inetutils-telnetd-root-bypass (opens in new tab)
- www.gnu.org/software/inetutils/ (opens in new tab)
- www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/01/20/2 (opens in new tab)
- www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/01/20/8 (opens in new tab)
- www.vicarius.io/vsociety/posts/cve-2026-24061-detection-script-remote-authentication-… (opens in new tab)
- www.vicarius.io/vsociety/posts/cve-2026-24061-mitigation-script-remote-authentication… (opens in new tab)
- CVE records from the CVE Program (cve.org). CVE® is a registered trademark of The MITRE Corporation. (opens in new tab)
- This product uses data from the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. (opens in new tab)
- Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog from CISA. (opens in new tab)
- EPSS scores from FIRST (Exploit Prediction Scoring System). (opens in new tab)