CVE-2026-24061

CRITICALNVD 9.89.8—Trending — 5 sources updated this weekExploited in the wild

9.8

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

CVSS v3: 9.8
EG Score: 9.8(high)
EPSS: 99.7%
KEV: ⚠ Exploited

Published

January 21, 2026

Last Modified

February 11, 2026

Advisory Details (10)

Auto-updated May 29, 2026

⚠️ Active exploitation confirmed. Patch available.

generic Patch Available

[SECURITY] [DLA 4453-1] inetutils security update

https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2026/01/msg00025.html

generic

oss-security - Re: GNU InetUtils Security Advisory: remote authentication by-pass in telnetd

http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/01/22/1

generic🔴 Active Exploitation

CVE-2026-24061 Mitigation Script - Remote Authentication Bypass in GNU Inetutils Package - vsociety

https://www.vicarius.io/vsociety/posts/cve-2026-24061-mitigation-script-remote-authentication-bypass-in-gnu-inetutils-package

generic🔴 Active Exploitation

CVE-2026-24061 Detection Script - Remote Authentication Bypass in GNU Inetutils Package - vsociety

https://www.vicarius.io/vsociety/posts/cve-2026-24061-detection-script-remote-authentication-bypass-in-gnu-inetutils-package

generic

oss-security - Re: GNU InetUtils Security Advisory: remote authentication by-pass in telnetd

https://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/01/20/8

generic

oss-security - GNU InetUtils Security Advisory: remote authentication by-pass in telnetd

https://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/01/20/2

generic

Inetutils - Network utilities - GNU Project - Free Software Foundation

https://www.gnu.org/software/inetutils/

generic

GNU InetUtils Security Advisory: remote authentication by-pass in telnet

https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/bug-inetutils/2026-01/msg00004.html

generic

Cookie monster!

https://codeberg.org/inetutils/inetutils/commit/fd702c02497b2f398e739e3119bed0b23dd7aa7b

generic

Cookie monster!

https://codeberg.org/inetutils/inetutils/commit/ccba9f748aa8d50a38d7748e2e60362edd6a32cc

Patch Availability(2)

Vendor / Ecosystem	Fixed in / Patch	Released	Source
ubuntu	inetutils-traceroute (2:1.9.4-1ubuntu0.1~esm5) @ xenial	2026-06-04	ubuntu
ubuntu	telnetd (0.17+2.6-1ubuntu3.1) @ questing	2026-06-04	ubuntu

Patches are aggregated from vendor advisories (Red Hat, Microsoft, Cisco, GitHub) and package ecosystems (OSV, GHSA). Multiple rows for the same upstream release have been deduplicated.

Weakness Classification(1)

MITRE Common Weakness Enumeration — the root-cause categories this CVE belongs to.

CWE-88Argument Injection or Modification

All Vendor Advisories

(2)

Every vendor that published an advisory referencing this CVE — pulled from our cve_vendor_advisories aggregation. Click any row for the vendor's original advisory page.

Data Freshness Timeline

(refreshed 20× in last 7d / 20× in last 30d)

Every time one of our enrichment pipelines (NVD, MITRE cvelistV5, EPSS, CISA KEV, GHSA, OSV, vendor advisories) ran against this CVE. Most recent first.

2026-06-04 00:23 UTCEG score recompute
2026-06-04 00:23 UTCVendor advisory
2026-06-04 00:23 UTCGHSA enrichment
2026-06-03 20:44 UTCEG score recompute
2026-06-03 20:44 UTCVendor advisory
2026-06-03 20:44 UTCGHSA enrichment
2026-06-03 19:09 UTCkev_newly_listed
2026-06-03 17:05 UTCEG score recompute
2026-06-03 17:05 UTCVendor advisory
2026-06-03 17:05 UTCGHSA enrichment
2026-06-03 13:26 UTCEG score recompute
2026-06-03 13:25 UTCGHSA enrichment
2026-06-03 09:47 UTCEG score recompute
2026-06-03 09:47 UTCVendor advisory
2026-06-03 09:47 UTCGHSA enrichment
2026-06-03 06:08 UTCEG score recompute
2026-06-03 06:08 UTCVendor advisory
2026-06-03 06:08 UTCGHSA enrichment
2026-06-03 02:29 UTCEG score recompute
2026-06-03 02:29 UTCVendor advisory

Publicly available exploits

(3 references)

Working exploit code is in the public domain (1 Metasploit module) (1 GitHub PoC) (1 Exploit-DB entry). Defenders should treat patch urgency accordingly — public PoCs typically lead to mass-exploitation within 24-72 hours.

Exploit-DBEDB-52524
First seen Apr 29, 2026
GNU InetUtils 2.6 - Telnetd Remote Privilege Escalation
Open source ↗
GitHub PoCekomsSavior/telnet_scan
First seen Mar 26, 2026
scanner/exploiter CVE-2026-24061 & CVE-2026-32746
Open source ↗
Metasploitexploit/linux/telnet/gnu_inetutils_auth_bypass✓ verified
First seen Jan 26, 2026
GNU Inetutils Telnet Authentication Bypass Exploit CVE-2026-24061
Open source ↗

Frequently asked(6)

What is CVE-2026-24061?

CVE-2026-24061 is a critical vulnerability published on January 21, 2026. telnetd in GNU Inetutils through 2.7 allows remote authentication bypass via a "-f root" value for the USER environment variable.

When was CVE-2026-24061 disclosed?

CVE-2026-24061 was first published in the National Vulnerability Database on January 21, 2026, with the most recent update on February 11, 2026. EchelonGraph re-ingests CVE updates from NVD on a 2-hour cycle, so this page reflects the latest published state.

Is CVE-2026-24061 actively exploited?

Yes. CISA added CVE-2026-24061 to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on January 26, 2026, affecting GNU InetUtils. KEV listing indicates confirmed exploitation in the wild; this CVE warrants immediate patching attention.

What is the CVSS score of CVE-2026-24061?

CVE-2026-24061 has a CVSS v3 base score of 9.8 (NVD).

Which products are affected by CVE-2026-24061?

CVE-2026-24061 affects GNU InetUtils. The full affected-products list, including version ranges and fixed versions, is shown in the Affected Packages section of this page.

How do I remediate CVE-2026-24061?

Patch to the fixed version published by the affected vendor. Where vendor advisories exist for CVE-2026-24061, EchelonGraph cross-links them in the Vendor Advisories panel below — those typically contain the canonical remediation steps, fixed version numbers, and any vendor-specific mitigations.

Dependency Blast Radius

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CVE-2026-24061

Published

Last Modified

Advisory Details (10)

[SECURITY] [DLA 4453-1] inetutils security update

oss-security - Re: GNU InetUtils Security Advisory: remote authentication by-pass in telnetd

CVE-2026-24061 Mitigation Script - Remote Authentication Bypass in GNU Inetutils Package - vsociety

CVE-2026-24061 Detection Script - Remote Authentication Bypass in GNU Inetutils Package - vsociety

oss-security - Re: GNU InetUtils Security Advisory: remote authentication by-pass in telnetd

oss-security - GNU InetUtils Security Advisory: remote authentication by-pass in telnetd

Inetutils - Network utilities - GNU Project - Free Software Foundation

GNU InetUtils Security Advisory: remote authentication by-pass in telnet

Cookie monster!

Cookie monster!

Patch Availability(2)

Weakness Classification(1)

All Vendor Advisories

Data Freshness Timeline

Publicly available exploits

Frequently asked(6)

Dependency Blast Radius

Is Your Infrastructure Affected by CVE-2026-24061?

Same vendor

Same CWE

CVE-2026-24061

📅 Published

🔄 Last Modified

📋 Advisory Details (10)

[SECURITY] [DLA 4453-1] inetutils security update

oss-security - Re: GNU InetUtils Security Advisory: remote authentication by-pass in telnetd

CVE-2026-24061 Mitigation Script - Remote Authentication Bypass in GNU Inetutils Package - vsociety

CVE-2026-24061 Detection Script - Remote Authentication Bypass in GNU Inetutils Package - vsociety

oss-security - Re: GNU InetUtils Security Advisory: remote authentication by-pass in telnetd

oss-security - GNU InetUtils Security Advisory: remote authentication by-pass in telnetd

Inetutils - Network utilities - GNU Project - Free Software Foundation

GNU InetUtils Security Advisory: remote authentication by-pass in telnet

Cookie monster!

Cookie monster!

Patch Availability(2)

Weakness Classification(1)

All Vendor Advisories

Data Freshness Timeline

Publicly available exploits

❓ Frequently asked(6)

Dependency Blast Radius

Is Your Infrastructure Affected by CVE-2026-24061?

🔗 Related CVEs(same vendor + same CWE)

Same vendor

Same CWE

Published

Last Modified

Advisory Details (10)

Frequently asked(6)

Related CVEs(same vendor + same CWE)