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

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Main Vulnerability Database Vulnerabilities #VU121953

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

Published: January 22, 2026 / Updated: May 12, 2026


Vulnerability identifier: #VU121953
CSH Severity: Critical
CVSS v4.0: 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
Vendor: GNU
Affected software:
Inetutils - GNU network utilities

Detailed vulnerability 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>



How to mitigate CVE-2026-24061

Install update from vendor's website.

Sources