CVE-2026-28372Public exploit

Local root escalation via unsanitized environment forwarding

Published Feb 27, 2026 · Updated Feb 27, 2026

Privilege escalation in GNU Inetutils telnetd through 2.7 allows local users to obtain a root shell through a crafted Telnet session. The start_login function in telnetd/pty.c forwards a client-set CREDENTIALS_DIRECTORY to util-linux login, which trusts login.noauth in that directory. Exploitation requires telnetd to invoke util-linux login 2.40 or later and an unprivileged local user to create a login.noauth file containing yes.

CVSS severity7.4
High
EPSS probability0.37%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Privilege escalation in GNU Inetutils telnetd through 2.7 allows local users to obtain a root shell through a crafted Telnet session. The start_login function in telnetd/pty.c forwards a client-set CREDENTIALS_DIRECTORY to util-linux login, which trusts login.noauth in that directory. Exploitation requires telnetd to invoke util-linux login 2.40 or later and an unprivileged local user to create a login.noauth file containing yes.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-28372
Published
Feb 27, 2026
Updated
Feb 27, 2026
Vendor
The GnuPG Project
Product
Inetutils
Classifications
CWE-829, T1068
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Feb 27, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Feb 27, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=0 <=2.7

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The GnuPG Project · Inetutilsversion=0 <=2.7

Published CVSS scores

7.4MITRECVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

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No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-829Inclusion of Functionality from Untrusted Control Sphere
T1068Exploitation for Privilege Escalation

Public exploit references

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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