Type Vulnerability
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.
GNU
GNU InetUtils Argument Injection Vulnerability
CVE-2026-24061
What this means
This is rated critical severity (9.8 out of 10). It is on the known-exploited catalogue, which means attacks using it have already been seen. Ask IT whether Gnu Inetutils and Debian Debian Linux are in your estate, and treat that as the priority.
Full vendor description
telnetd in GNU Inetutils through 2.7 allows remote authentication bypass via a "-f root" value for the USER environment variable.
Scoring and exploitation
9.8/ 10
CVSS 3.1 base scoreCritical
Exploitable over the network without any account, and no one has to click or open anything. High impact on confidentiality, integrity and availability.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Exploitability
Longer bar: easier to attack
Attack vectorNetworkAV:N
Attack complexityLowAC:L
Privileges requiredNonePR:N
User interactionNoneUI:N
ScopeUnchangedS:U
Impact
Longer bar: more harm
ConfidentialityHighC:H
IntegrityHighI:H
AvailabilityHighA:H
- Elevated attack likelihood (~99% in 30 days)Model estimate (): a probability signal, not confirmed exploitation
- Exploited in the wild
- Yes — confirmed exploitation (US CISA )
- Not reported
- Listed product
- GNU InetUtils
Weaknesses
CWE-88
Affected products ()
- Gnu Inetutils
- Debian Debian Linux
Show the raw CPE strings (2)
- cpe:2.3:a:gnu:inetutils:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:11.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
References
14 links from the CVE record, grouped by site; the vendor's advisory comes first.
lists.gnu.org1 linkVendor advisory
- msg00004.html (opens in a new tab)Mitigation · Vendor Advisory
codeberg.org2 links
redteam.ae1 link
- cve-2026-24061-inetutils-telnetd-root-bypass (opens in a new tab)Exploit · Third Party Advisory
gnu.org1 link
openwall.com4 links
- 2 (opens in a new tab)Mailing List
- 8 (opens in a new tab)Mailing List
- 1 (opens in a new tab)Mailing List
Show 1 more from openwall.com
- 2 (opens in a new tab)Mailing List · Third Party Advisory
vicarius.io2 links
lists.debian.org1 link
- msg00025.html (opens in a new tab)Mailing List · Third Party Advisory
cisa.gov1 link
- known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog (opens in a new tab)US Government Resource
labs.greynoise.io1 link
- index.html (opens in a new tab)Exploit · Third Party Advisory