CVE-2026-24061
9.8 · CRITICAL Actively ExploitedOverview
CVE-2026-24061 is a critical-severity vulnerability affecting gnu inetutils. It was published on January 21, 2026 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.8 (CRITICAL). This vulnerability is listed in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, indicating active exploitation in the wild.
This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.8, rated CRITICAL. It can be exploited remotely over the network. No authentication or special privileges are required for exploitation.
Technical Description
telnetd in GNU Inetutils through 2.7 allows remote authentication bypass via a "-f root" value for the USER environment variable.
Remediation
Check the references section for vendor advisories and patches from gnu. Update inetutils to the latest patched version. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.
Affected Products
| Vendor | Product | Versions | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| gnu | inetutils | 1.9.3 | Affected |
References
Frequently Asked Questions
What is CVE-2026-24061?
CVE-2026-24061 is a critical-severity vulnerability affecting gnu inetutils. It was published on January 21, 2026 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.8 (CRITICAL). This vulnerability is listed in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, indicating active exploitation in the wild.
How severe is CVE-2026-24061?
This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.8, rated CRITICAL. It can be exploited remotely over the network. No authentication or special privileges are required for exploitation.
How do I fix or remediate CVE-2026-24061?
Check the references section for vendor advisories and patches from gnu. Update inetutils to the latest patched version. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.
How can CyberStrike help with CVE-2026-24061?
CyberStrike's AI-powered security agents can automatically detect CVE-2026-24061 across your infrastructure using autonomous pentesting, DAST scanning, and HackBrowser. The platform continuously monitors for known vulnerabilities and provides actionable remediation guidance prioritized by real-world exploitability.
How CyberStrike Helps
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