PT-2026-3756 · Gnu+2 · Inetutils+2

Carlos Cortes Alvarez + 1 · Published 2026-01-20 · Updated 2026-05-08 · CVE-2026-24061

Positive Technologies (AI Summary)

CVSS v2.0

10

Critical

Base vector

AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

Name of the Vulnerable Software and Affected Versions GNU Inetutils versions 1.9.3 through 2.7

Description GNU Inetutils telnetd is vulnerable to a remote authentication bypass. An attacker can exploit this flaw by manipulating the USER environment variable, specifically by setting it to "-f root", to gain unauthorized root access. This vulnerability has been actively exploited and affects systems running telnetd. The flaw has existed for over 11 years and allows attackers to bypass authentication without needing credentials. Approximately 800,000 systems are estimated to be exposed. The vulnerability allows for remote code execution and potential system compromise.

Recommendations Upgrade to GNU Inetutils version 2.8 or later. If upgrading is not possible, disable the telnetd service entirely. Restrict access to telnetd to trusted IP addresses and monitor logs for suspicious activity.

Exploit

Fix

RCE

Argument Injection

Weakness Enumeration

CWE-88

Related Identifiers

BDU:2026-00709

CVE-2026-24061

TELNETDCVE_2026_24061

USN-7992-1

USN-7992-2

Affected Products

Inetutils

Linuxmint

Ubuntu

References · 229

• 🔥 https://github.com/SafeBreach-Labs/CVE-2026-24061 · Exploit
• 🔥 https://exploit-db.com/exploits/52524 · Exploit
• 🔥 https://labs.greynoise.io/grimoire/2026-01-22-f-around-and-find-out-18-hours-of-unsolicited-houseguests/index.html · Exploit
• 🔥 https://openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/01/20/2#:~:text=root@...a%3A~%20USER=\' · Exploit
• https://wiki.astralinux.ru/astra-linux-se18-bulletin-2026-0224SE18 · Vendor Advisory
• https://ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-7992-1 · Vendor Advisory
• https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-24061 · Security Note
• https://osv.dev/vulnerability/USN-7992-2 · Vendor Advisory
• https://codeberg.org/inetutils/inetutils/commit/ccba9f748aa8d50a38d7748e2e60362edd6a32cc · Patch
• https://codeberg.org/inetutils/inetutils/commit/fd702c02497b2f398e739e3119bed0b23dd7aa7b · Patch
• https://wiki.astralinux.ru/astra-linux-se38-bulletin-2026-0305SE38 · Vendor Advisory
• https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-24061 · Vendor Advisory
• https://bdu.fstec.ru/vul/2026-00709 · Security Note
• https://osv.dev/vulnerability/DEBIAN-CVE-2026-24061 · Vendor Advisory
• https://cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-24061 · Security Note