CVE-2026-24061
GNU — GNU InetUtils Argument Injection Vulnerability
GNU · CWE-88 · in CISA KEV since 2026-01-26
EVRS 89 of 100 Immediate
Out-of-Band / Urgent Remediation
Rank 151 of 2,960 tracked
Why it scores 89
Evidence available: 6 of 7 signalsListed in the CISA KEV catalog, and an EPSS probability of 0.990.
- CISA KEVApplied
- RansomwareDid not apply
- Vendor exploitationDid not apply
- EPSSApplied
- Microsoft Exploitability IndexNot applicable
- Pre-patch disclosureNo data
- KEV recencyDid not apply
- CVSSApplied
The band answers “how soon”, not “how bad”. No data for: Pre-patch disclosure. Why some signals show no data
Fix
Patch or fixed version identifiedCISA required action
- 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
- codeberg.org/…/ccba9f748aa8d50a38d7748e2e60362edd6a32cc
- codeberg.org/…/fd702c02497b2f398e739e3119bed0b23dd7aa7b
- nvd.nist.gov/…/CVE-2026-24061
Fixed in
inetutils -> 2:2.2-2ubuntu0.2 | inetutils -> 2:2.5-3ubuntu4.1 | inetutils -> 2:2.6-1ubuntu3.1 | inetutils -> 2:1.9.4-1ubuntu0.1~esm5 | inetutils -> 2:1.9.4-3ubuntu0.1+esm4 | inetutils -> 2:1.9.4-11ubuntu0.2+esm3 | inetutils -> 2:2.4-2+deb12u2 | inetutils -> 2:2.7-2 | inetutils -> 2:2.6-3+deb13u1
Affected versions
- inetutils
>= 1.9.3 <= 2.7 - debian linux
11.0
Remediation
Apply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.
Fixed versions from NVD.
Evidence
Each value with its source| Measure | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| CVSS base scoreHow severe the flaw is in itself. It does not say how likely an attack is. | 9.8 | NVD |
| FIRST EPSSFIRST's estimate of the chance this is exploited in the next 30 days, and how that ranks against all CVEs. | 0.990 (99.93rd pctl) | FIRST EPSS |
| Actively exploitedWhether a source of record has confirmed attacks using it in the wild. | Confirmed | CISA KEV |
| Ransomware campaign useWhether CISA has seen ransomware operators use it. | Unknown or none | CISA KEV |
| CISA remediation deadlineThe date US federal agencies must have fixed or mitigated it. | 2026-02-16 · CISA federal deadline · Overdue by 8 months | CISA KEV |
| Public exploit moduleA module existing is not the same as active exploitation. | Public module exists | Metasploit |
| EUVD cross-referenceENISA's record: CVSS 9.8 (v3.1), assigned by mitre. | Listed | ENISA EUVD |
Description
NVDtelnetd in GNU Inetutils through 2.7 allows remote authentication bypass via a "-f root" value for the USER environment variable.
What CISA says to do
- 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
- codeberg.org/…/ccba9f748aa8d50a38d7748e2e60362edd6a32cc
- codeberg.org/…/fd702c02497b2f398e739e3119bed0b23dd7aa7b
- nvd.nist.gov/…/CVE-2026-24061
Public module
Metasploit lists a public great-rank module for this CVE: GNU Inetutils Telnet Authentication Bypass Exploit CVE-2026-24061 (linux/telnet/gnu_inetutils_auth_bypass). A module existing is not the same as active exploitation; see metasploit.com.