All vulnerabilities
CVE-2026-24061

GNU InetUtils Argument Injection Vulnerability

GNU InetUtils
Open in ThreatlineRecord JSON
CVSS
9.8Critical
ExploitationExploited in the wildAdded to KEV 26 Jan 2026CISA KEV
Exploit odds (EPSS)99.0%Chance of exploitation activity in the next 30 days, higher than 99.9% of CVEs. Scored 23 Oct 2026FIRST EPSS
Fixed inNone listedNo source names a fixed version. Check the vendor advisory below
Federal deadline16 Feb 2026Remediation due date for US federal agenciesCISA KEV
CISA required actionApply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable. CISA KEV

What fixes it

No source in this snapshot names a fixed version. The vendor advisories under References are the place to check.

Timeline

  1. 21 Jan 2026, 06:42 UTCPublishedCVE List
  2. 26 Jan 2026Exploit code publicMetasploit
  3. 26 Jan 2026Added to CISA KEVCISA KEV

Public exploit code and templates 2

  • Exploit moduleGNU Inetutils Telnet Authentication Bypass Exploit CVE-2026-24061 26 Jan 2026Metasploit
  • Local exploitGNU InetUtils 2.6 - Telnetd Remote Privilege Escalation 29 Apr 2026Exploit-DB

Listed so defenders can prioritize. Threatline links to the source and does not host exploit code.

Description

GNU InetUtils contains an argument injection vulnerability in telnetd that could allow for remote authentication bypass via a "-f root" value for the USER environment variable.

Text from CVE List

Affected versions 1

  • Inetutilsaffected: 1.9.3 through 2.7CVE List

References 14