VulnerabilityPublished 13 Mar 2026Updated 16 Mar 2026

CVE-2026-32772: GNU inetutils · Incorrect Resource Transfer Between Spheres

Affects GNU inetutilsSource CVE Database V5

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Not known to be exploited · CVSS 3.4 Low.

Data as of 30 Oct 2026, 11:52 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

3.4Low

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 0.1% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 8% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:N/A:N

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: High
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: Required
Scope: Changed
Confidentiality: Low
Integrity: None
Availability: None

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable component is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed 'remotely exploitable' and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
Attack Complexity: High: A successful attack depends on conditions beyond the attacker's control. That is, a successful attack cannot be accomplished at will, but requires the attacker to invest in some measurable amount of effort in preparation or execution against the vulnerable component before a successful attack can be expected. For example, a successful attack may require an attacker to: gather knowledge about the environment in which the vulnerable target/component exists; prepare the target environment to improve exploit reliability; or inject themselves into the logical network path between the target and the resource requested by the victim in order to read and/or modify network communications (e.g., a man in the middle attack).
Privileges Required: None: The attacker is unauthorized prior to attack, and therefore does not require any access to settings or files to carry out an attack.
User Interaction: Required: Successful exploitation of this vulnerability requires a user to take some action before the vulnerability can be exploited.
Scope: Changed: An exploited vulnerability can affect resources beyond the security scope managed by the security authority of the vulnerable component. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are different and managed by different security authorities.
Confidentiality: Low: There is some loss of confidentiality. Access to some restricted information is obtained, but the attacker does not have control over what information is obtained, or the amount or kind of loss is limited. The information disclosure does not cause a direct, serious loss to the impacted component.
Integrity: None: There is no loss of integrity within the impacted component.
Availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the impacted component.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 13 Mar 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponized: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 24 Oct 2026.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponized: A Metasploit exploit module or Exploit-DB entry exists (Metasploit scanner modules do not count), or CISA SSVC or the CVSS exploit maturity reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
GNUinetutils	Affected <=2.7	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

To mitigate CVE-2026-32772, organizations should first assess whether GNU inetutils telnet clients are in use within their environment. If so, consider the following specific actions: 1) Disable telnet usage entirely and migrate to secure alternatives such as SSH, which provide encrypted communication and stronger authentication. 2) If telnet cannot be immediately replaced, restrict telnet client usage to trusted servers only, minimizing exposure to potentially malicious servers. 3) Implement network-level controls such as firewall rules or network segmentation to limit telnet traffic to known safe endpoints. 4) Monitor telnet session logs for unusual environment variable exchanges or unexpected server behavior. 5) Stay updated with GNU inetutils project announcements for patches or updates addressing this vulnerability and apply them promptly once available. 6) Educate users about the risks of connecting to untrusted telnet servers and the importance of minimizing user interaction that could trigger exploitation. These targeted mitigations go beyond generic advice by focusing on reducing exposure to the vulnerable telnet client and limiting the attack surface.

Description

telnet in GNU inetutils through 2.7 allows servers to read arbitrary environment variables from clients via NEW_ENVIRON SEND USERVAR.

Impact

The primary impact of CVE-2026-32772 is the partial disclosure of client environment variables to a malicious or compromised telnet server. This can lead to the exposure of sensitive information such as user-specific environment settings, paths, or other data that could aid an attacker in further reconnaissance or targeted attacks. However, the impact is limited to confidentiality; there is no direct impact on data integrity or system availability. The requirement for user interaction and high attack complexity reduces the likelihood of widespread exploitation. Organizations relying on telnet for remote access, especially in legacy systems or specialized industrial environments, may face increased risk of information leakage. While modern environments have largely deprecated telnet in favor of more secure protocols like SSH, some sectors still use telnet, making the vulnerability relevant in those contexts. The scope of affected systems is limited to those running vulnerable GNU inetutils telnet clients, which narrows the global impact but does not eliminate it.

References

openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/03/13/1 (opens in a new tab)

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 20 Mar 2026, 23:25 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-669

Technical details

References

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