CVE-2026-24061: listed in the CISA KEV catalog

CVE-2026-24061 · CVSS 9.8 CRITICAL · EPSS 99% · KEV 2026-01-26

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

Is CVE-2026-24061 exploited?

• Listed in the CISA KEV catalog on 2026-01-26.
• Federal remediation due 2026-02-16.
• Past that date by 227 days.
• EPSS puts exploitation in the next 30 days at 99%.
• Public exploit code: packaged in a public tool.

Which products and versions are affected?

• GNU · Inetutils · 1.9.3 - 2.7
• debian · debian linux · 11.0

Is there a patch?

No patch identifier recorded here yet.

What PlainSec published about CVE-2026-24061

PlainSec has not published a story about this CVE.

Primary sources

• NVD record
• CISA KEV catalog
• Metasploit: exploit/linux/telnet/gnu_inetutils_auth_bypass
• Exploit-DB 52524

What this record does not say

• No patch identifier.

KEV and EPSS are re-checked daily. Record last updated 2026-09-24.