CVE-2026-24061

CRITICAL CISA KEV EPSS 99.9%
Published Jan 21, 20265mo ago · Modified Jun 17, 20261w ago
9.8 CVSS 3.1
Critical
Find Similar
Published Jan 21, 2026 5mo ago
Last Modified Jun 17, 2026 1w ago
KEV Listed Jan 26, 2026 5mo ago
KEV Due Feb 16, 2026 134d overdue

Description

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

CVSS Details

Base Score
9.8
Exploitability
3.9
Impact
5.9
Vector string
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Attack Vector Network
Attack Complexity Low
Privileges Required None
User Interaction None
Scope Unchanged
Confidentiality High
Integrity High
Availability High

Threat Intelligence

CISA Known Exploited Overdue 134d
Added
Jan 26, 2026
Due
Feb 16, 2026

Apply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.

EPSS Exploit Probability
99.9% percentile
Exploit & Patch Status
Actively Exploited (KEV)
Patch Available

Weaknesses 1

CWE-88

Affected Products 2

VendorProductVersionRange
gnuinetutils*≥1.9.3  –  ≤2.7
debiandebian_linux11.0any

References 13

  • openwall.com http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/01/22/1
    Mailing List
  • codeberg.org https://codeberg.org/inetutils/inetutils/commit/ccba9f748aa8d50a38d7748e2e60362edd6a32cc
    Patch
  • codeberg.org https://codeberg.org/inetutils/inetutils/commit/fd702c02497b2f398e739e3119bed0b23dd7aa7b
    Patch
  • lists.debian.org https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2026/01/msg00025.html
    Mailing ListThird Party Advisory
  • lists.gnu.org https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/bug-inetutils/2026-01/msg00004.html
    MitigationVendor Advisory
  • cisa.gov https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2026-24061
    US Government Resource
  • gnu.org https://www.gnu.org/software/inetutils/
    Product
  • labs.greynoise.io https://www.labs.greynoise.io/grimoire/2026-01-22-f-around-and-find-out-18-hours-of-unsolicited-houseguests/index.html
    ExploitThird Party Advisory
  • openwall.com https://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/01/20/2
    Mailing List
  • openwall.com https://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/01/20/2#:~:text=root@...a%3A~%20USER='
    Mailing ListThird Party Advisory
  • openwall.com https://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/01/20/8
    Mailing List
  • vicarius.io https://www.vicarius.io/vsociety/posts/cve-2026-24061-detection-script-remote-authentication-bypass-in-gnu-inetutils-package
    Third Party Advisory
  • vicarius.io https://www.vicarius.io/vsociety/posts/cve-2026-24061-mitigation-script-remote-authentication-bypass-in-gnu-inetutils-package
    MitigationThird Party Advisory

Remediation

  • codeberg.org https://codeberg.org/inetutils/inetutils/commit/ccba9f748aa8d50a38d7748e2e60362edd6a32cc
    Patch
  • codeberg.org https://codeberg.org/inetutils/inetutils/commit/fd702c02497b2f398e739e3119bed0b23dd7aa7b
    Patch