# CVE-2026-24061: GNU InetUtils Argument Injection Vulnerability

> CVE-2026-24061: GNU InetUtils Argument Injection Vulnerability. CVSS 9.8 (CVSS 3.1), in CISA KEV.

Canonical: https://rewindex.com/cve/CVE-2026-24061
Last updated: 2026-09-30T11:47:02Z

- Published: 2026-01-21 06:42 UTC · Updated: 2026-09-30 11:47 UTC · Assigner: mitre
- CVSS: 9.8 (CVSS 3.1) · Severity: Critical · Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
- EPSS: 99.0%, 100th percentile (scored 2026-10-25)
- CISA KEV: yes, added 2026-01-26, federal due date 2026-02-16, ransomware use: Unknown
- CWE: CWE-88

## Description

telnetd in GNU Inetutils through 2.7 allows remote authentication bypass via a "-f root" value for the USER environment variable.

## CISA 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.

## Affected vendors and products

- GNU: Inetutils

## References

- [CVE record on cve.org](https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-24061)
- [NVD entry](https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-24061)
- [https://codeberg.org/inetutils/inetutils/commit/ccba9f748aa8d50a38d7748e2e60362edd6a32cc](https://codeberg.org/inetutils/inetutils/commit/ccba9f748aa8d50a38d7748e2e60362edd6a32cc)
- [https://codeberg.org/inetutils/inetutils/commit/fd702c02497b2f398e739e3119bed0b23dd7aa7b](https://codeberg.org/inetutils/inetutils/commit/fd702c02497b2f398e739e3119bed0b23dd7aa7b)
- [https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/bug-inetutils/2026-01/msg00004.html](https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/bug-inetutils/2026-01/msg00004.html)
- [https://redteam.ae/blog/cve-2026-24061-inetutils-telnetd-root-bypass](https://redteam.ae/blog/cve-2026-24061-inetutils-telnetd-root-bypass)
- [https://www.gnu.org/software/inetutils/](https://www.gnu.org/software/inetutils/)
- [https://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/01/20/2](https://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/01/20/2)
- [https://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/01/20/8](https://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/01/20/8)
- [https://www.vicarius.io/vsociety/posts/cve-2026-24061-detection-script-remote-authentication-bypass-in-gnu-inetutils-package](https://www.vicarius.io/vsociety/posts/cve-2026-24061-detection-script-remote-authentication-bypass-in-gnu-inetutils-package)
- [https://www.vicarius.io/vsociety/posts/cve-2026-24061-mitigation-script-remote-authentication-bypass-in-gnu-inetutils-package](https://www.vicarius.io/vsociety/posts/cve-2026-24061-mitigation-script-remote-authentication-bypass-in-gnu-inetutils-package)

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_Sources: CVE records from the CVE Program (cve.org). CVE® is a registered trademark of The MITRE Corporation. (https://www.cve.org/) This product uses data from the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. (https://nvd.nist.gov/) Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog from CISA. (https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog) EPSS scores from FIRST (Exploit Prediction Scoring System). (https://www.first.org/epss/)_


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Canonical: https://rewindex.com/cve/CVE-2026-24061 · Markdown: https://rewindex.com/cve/CVE-2026-24061.md · JSON: https://rewindex.com/api/v1/cves/CVE-2026-24061 · Data licensed CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) · Generated 2026-10-26T03:13:03.657Z