Overview
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.
This vulnerability could affect an open-source component, third-party library, protocol, or proprietary implementation that could be used by different products. For more information, please see: https://cgit.git.savannah.gnu.org/cgit/inetutils.git ; https://codeberg.org/inetutils/inetutils/commit/ccba9f748aa8d50a38d7748e2e60362edd6a32cc; https://codeberg.org/inetutils/inetutils/commit/fd702c02497b2f398e739e3119bed0b23dd7aa7b ; https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-24061
Key Details
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| CVE ID | CVE-2026-24061 |
| Vendor / Product | GNU — InetUtils |
| NVD Published | 2026-01-21 |
| NVD Last Modified | 2026-02-11 |
| CVSS 3.1 Score | 9.8 |
| CVSS 3.1 Vector | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |
| Severity | CRITICAL |
| CWE | CWE-88 |
| CISA KEV Added | 2026-01-26 |
| CISA KEV Deadline | 2026-02-16 |
| Known Ransomware Use | No |
CVSS 3.1 Breakdown
Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
None
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High
Required Action
CISA BOD 22-01 Deadline: 2026-02-16.
Apply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.
Timeline
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 2026-01-26 | Added to CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog |
| 2026-02-16 | CISA BOD 22-01 remediation deadline |
References
| Resource | Type |
|---|---|
| NVD — CVE-2026-24061 | Vulnerability Database |
| CISA KEV Catalog Entry | US Government |