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Critical 9.8Known exploited (CISA KEV)Published Jan 21, 2026
CVE-2026-24061telnetd in GNU Inetutils through 2.7 allows remote authentication bypass via a "-f root" value for the USER environment variable.
Updated under an hour ago ()
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It affects GNU Inetutils and 1 other product. Add what you run to find out whether that includes you.
CISA lists it as known exploited since Jan 26, 2026; federal agencies had to remediate by Feb 16, 2026. Treat that date as your deadline.
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telnetd in GNU Inetutils through 2.7 allows remote authentication bypass via a "-f root" value for the USER environment variable.
- CVSS
- 9.8 CRITICAL (v3.1, CNA)CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
- Weakness (CWE)
- CWE-88
- Known exploited
- Added to CISA KEV Jan 26, 2026; federal remediation due Feb 16, 2026Apply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.
- EPSS (exploitation in the next 30 days)
- 98.98% (percentile 100)
- Assigned by
- mitre
- NVD analysis
- Analyzed
- Record last updated
- Sep 29, 2026
- First seen by InfoSec Signals
- Oct 9, 2026
Affected products
GNU Inetutils gnu:inetutils (from the name) | from 1.9.3 through 2.7 | CNA record |
gnu inetutils gnu:inetutils | from 1.9.3 through 2.7 | NVD |
debian debian_linux debian:debian_linux | 11.0 | NVD |
References
- https://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/01/20/2mailing-list
- https://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/01/20/8mailing-list
- https://www.gnu.org/software/inetutils/product
- https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/bug-inetutils/2026-01/msg00004.htmlmitigation, vendor-advisory
- https://codeberg.org/inetutils/inetutils/commit/fd702c02497b2f398e739e3119bed0b23dd7aa7bpatch
- https://codeberg.org/inetutils/inetutils/commit/ccba9f748aa8d50a38d7748e2e60362edd6a32ccpatch
- https://www.vicarius.io/vsociety/posts/cve-2026-24061-detection-script-remote-authentication-bypass-in-gnu-inetutils-packagethird-party-advisory
- https://www.vicarius.io/vsociety/posts/cve-2026-24061-mitigation-script-remote-authentication-bypass-in-gnu-inetutils-packagemitigation, third-party-advisory
- https://redteam.ae/blog/cve-2026-24061-inetutils-telnetd-root-bypassexploit, third-party-advisory
- http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/01/22/1mailing-list
- https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2026/01/msg00025.htmlmailing-list, third-party-advisory
- https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2026-24061us-government-resource
- https://www.labs.greynoise.io/grimoire/2026-01-22-f-around-and-find-out-18-hours-of-unsolicited-houseguests/index.htmlexploit, third-party-advisory
- https://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/01/20/2#:~:text=root@...a%3A~%20USER='mailing-list, third-party-advisory
The CVE record on cve.org NVD's entry
The CVE record is authoritative. Products marked “from the name” were identified from the CNA's free-text names, not a CPE, and are matched less certainly. This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD.