How severe is CVE-2026-28372?

CVE-2026-28372 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 7.4, rated high severity. It is exploitable over local access with high attack complexity, requires no privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability high.

Is CVE-2026-28372 being actively exploited?

It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 0% (29th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What products are affected by CVE-2026-28372?

CVE-2026-28372 affects Gnu Inetutils. See the affected-products list for the exact vulnerable versions.

How do I fix CVE-2026-28372?

Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its high severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.

Does CVE-2026-28372 have an EU (EUVD) identifier?

Yes. CVE-2026-28372 is tracked in the ENISA EU Vulnerability Database (EUVD) as EUVD-2026-9000.

When was CVE-2026-28372 published?

CVE-2026-28372 was published on 2026-02-27 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

CVE-2026-28372

CVE-2026-28372 is a high-severity vulnerability in Gnu Inetutils with a CVSS 3.x base score of 7.4. It is not currently listed as actively exploited by CISA, and its EPSS exploit-prediction score is low. The underlying weakness is classified as CWE-829.

Key facts

Severity: High (CVSS 3.x base score 7.4)
EPSS exploit prediction: 0% (29th percentile)
Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
EU (EUVD) id: EUVD-2026-9000
Weakness: CWE-829
Affected product: Gnu Inetutils
Published: 2026-02-27
Last modified: 2026-06-17

Description

telnetd in GNU inetutils through 2.7 allows privilege escalation that can be exploited by abusing systemd service credentials support added to the login(1) implementation of util-linux in release 2.40. This is related to client control over the CREDENTIALS_DIRECTORY environment variable, and requires an unprivileged local user to create a login.noauth file.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2026-28372?: telnetd in GNU inetutils through 2.7 allows privilege escalation that can be exploited by abusing systemd service credentials support added to the login(1) implementation of util-linux in release 2.40. This is related to client control over the CREDENTIALS_DIRECTORY environment variable, and requires an unprivileged local user to create a login.noauth file.
How severe is CVE-2026-28372?: CVE-2026-28372 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 7.4, rated high severity. It is exploitable over local access with high attack complexity, requires no privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability high.
Is CVE-2026-28372 being actively exploited?: It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 0% (29th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2026-28372?: CVE-2026-28372 affects Gnu Inetutils. See the affected-products list for the exact vulnerable versions.
How do I fix CVE-2026-28372?: Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its high severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.
Does CVE-2026-28372 have an EU (EUVD) identifier?: Yes. CVE-2026-28372 is tracked in the ENISA EU Vulnerability Database (EUVD) as EUVD-2026-9000.
When was CVE-2026-28372 published?: CVE-2026-28372 was published on 2026-02-27 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

Affected products (1)

cpe:2.3:a:gnu:inetutils:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

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