#VU121953 Improper Neutralization of Argument Delimiters in a Command in Inetutils - GNU network utilities - CVE-2026-24061

 

#VU121953 Improper Neutralization of Argument Delimiters in a Command in Inetutils - GNU network utilities - CVE-2026-24061

Published: January 22, 2026 / Updated: April 1, 2026


Vulnerability identifier: #VU121953
Vulnerability risk: Critical
CVSSv4.0: CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:A/U:Red
CVE-ID: CVE-2026-24061
CWE-ID: CWE-88
Exploitation vector: Remote access
Exploit availability: The vulnerability is being exploited in the wild
Vulnerable software:
Inetutils - GNU network utilities
Software vendor:
GNU

Description

The vulnerability allows a remote attacker to compromise the affected system.

The vulnerability exists due to improper input validation when processing attacker-controlled USER environment variable. A remote non-authenticated attacker can simply connect to the remote server with a specially crafted environment variable and obtain root privileges. 

Exploitation example:

USER='-f root' telnet -a <host>



Remediation

Cybersecurity Help is currently unaware of any official solution to address this vulnerability.

External links