GNU Inetutils up to 2.7 telnetd User argument injection

CVSS Meta Temp Score
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CTI Interest Score
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9.8$0-$5k0.00

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability marked as critical has been reported in GNU Inetutils up to 2.7. Affected is an unknown function of the component telnetd. The manipulation of the argument User leads to argument injection. This vulnerability is listed as CVE-2026-24061. The attack may be initiated remotely. In addition, an exploit is available.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in GNU Inetutils up to 2.7. It has been rated as very critical. This issue affects an unknown code of the component telnetd. The manipulation of the argument USER with an unknown input leads to a argument injection vulnerability. Using CWE to declare the problem leads to CWE-88. The product constructs a string for a command to be executed by a separate component in another control sphere, but it does not properly delimit the intended arguments, options, or switches within that command string. Impacted is confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The summary by CVE is:

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

It is possible to read the advisory at openwall.com. The identification of this vulnerability is CVE-2026-24061 since 01/21/2026. The exploitation is known to be easy. The attack may be initiated remotely. No form of authentication is needed for a successful exploitation. Technical details as well as a public exploit are known. The pricing for an exploit might be around USD $0-$5k at the moment (estimation calculated on 05/01/2026). The attack technique deployed by this issue is T1059 according to MITRE ATT&CK.

The exploit is available at exploit-db.com. It is declared as attacked. The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 294968 (Debian dsa-6106 : inetutils-ftp - security update), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment. The CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog lists this issue since 01/26/2026 with a due date of 02/16/2026:

Apply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.

There is no information about possible countermeasures known. It may be suggested to replace the affected object with an alternative product.

The vulnerability is also documented in the databases at Exploit-DB (52524), CNNVD (CNNVD-202601-3437), Tenable (294968), EUVD (EUVD-2026-3688) and CERT Bund (WID-SEC-2026-0183). Be aware that VulDB is the high quality source for vulnerability data.

Affected

  • Debian Linux
  • Gentoo Linux
  • Open Source InetUtils

Productinfo

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CPE 2.3info

CPE 2.2info

CVSSv4info

VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 9.8
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 9.8

VulDB Base Score: 9.8
VulDB Temp Score: 9.8
VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CNA Base Score: 9.8
CNA Vector (MITRE): 🔒

CVSSv2info

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VectorComplexityAuthenticationConfidentialityIntegrityAvailability
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VulDB Base Score: 🔒
VulDB Temp Score: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

Exploitinginfo

Class: Argument injection
CWE: CWE-88 / CWE-74 / CWE-707
CAPEC: 🔒
ATT&CK: 🔒

Physical: No
Local: No
Remote: Yes

Availability: 🔒
Access: Public
Status: Attacked
Download: 🔒

EPSS Score: 🔒
EPSS Percentile: 🔒

KEV Added: 🔒
KEV Due: 🔒
KEV Remediation: 🔒
KEV Ransomware: 🔒
KEV Notice: 🔒

Price Prediction: 🔍
Current Price Estimation: 🔒

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Nessus ID: 294968
Nessus Name: Debian dsa-6106 : inetutils-ftp - security update

Exploit-DB: 🔒

Threat Intelligenceinfo

Interest: 🔍
Active Actors: 🔍
Active APT Groups: 🔍

Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: no mitigation known
Status: 🔍

0-Day Time: 🔒

Timelineinfo

01/21/2026 Advisory disclosed
01/21/2026 +0 days CVE reserved
01/21/2026 +0 days VulDB entry created
05/01/2026 +100 days VulDB entry last update

Sourcesinfo

Vendor: gnu.org

Advisory: openwall.com
Status: Confirmed

CVE: CVE-2026-24061 (🔒)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2026-24061
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-342143
EUVD: 🔒
CERT Bund: WID-SEC-2026-0183 - InetUtils (telnetd): Schwachstelle ermöglicht Erlangen von Administratorrechten
CNNVD: CNNVD-202601-3437 - GNU Inetutils 参数注入漏洞

scip Labs: https://www.scip.ch/en/?labs.20161013

Entryinfo

Created: 01/21/2026 08:33
Updated: 05/01/2026 18:50
Changes: 01/21/2026 08:33 (63), 01/22/2026 01:07 (6), 01/22/2026 09:39 (1), 01/23/2026 05:33 (2), 01/23/2026 11:32 (6), 01/24/2026 15:04 (1), 01/26/2026 06:09 (1), 01/27/2026 00:01 (15), 01/27/2026 08:48 (2), 05/01/2026 18:50 (3)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

Be aware that VulDB is the high quality source for vulnerability data.

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