USN-7992-1: Inetutils vulnerability

Publication date

2 February 2026

Overview

Inetutils could allow unintended access to network services.


Packages

  • inetutils - Collection of common network programs

Details

Kyu Neushwaistein discovered that telnetd in Inetutils incorrectly handled
certain environment variables. A remote attacker could use this issue to
bypass authentication and open a session as an administrator.

Kyu Neushwaistein discovered that telnetd in Inetutils incorrectly handled
certain environment variables. A remote attacker could use this issue to
bypass authentication and open a session as an administrator.

Update instructions

In general, a standard system update will make all the necessary changes.

Learn more about how to get the fixes.

The problem can be corrected by updating your system to the following package versions:

Ubuntu Release Package Version
25.10 questing inetutils-telnetd –  2:2.6-1ubuntu3.1
24.04 LTS noble inetutils-telnetd –  2:2.5-3ubuntu4.1
22.04 LTS jammy inetutils-telnetd –  2:2.2-2ubuntu0.2

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