# CVE-2026-32746 — GNU inetutils

> As of 2026-03-23, CVE-2026-32746 is a CRITICAL-severity vulnerability in GNU inetutils, CVSS v3.1 9.8, EPSS 23.6% (97.5th percentile). Threadlinqs Intelligence links 1 tracked threat campaign to CVE-2026-32746, most recently “CVE-2026-32746: Pre-Auth BSS Buffer Overflow in GNU inetutils telnetd LINEMODE SLC Handling”.

**Last updated:** 2026-03-23

## What is CVE-2026-32746?

telnetd in GNU inetutils through 2.7 allows an out-of-bounds write in the LINEMODE SLC (Set Local Characters) suboption handler because add_slc does not check whether the buffer is full.

The record classifies CVE-2026-32746 under weakness class [CWE-120](https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/120.html). Its CVSS v3 base vector states that the flaw is reachable remotely over the network, needs no prior authentication, needs no user interaction, and has high impact on confidentiality, integrity, availability. 1 affected-product entry is recorded, across 1 vendor, listed below. The identifier was first published 183 days ago.

## Severity and exploitation probability

- **CVSS v3.1 base score:** 9.8 — CRITICAL (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **EPSS (FIRST):** 23.6% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 97.5% of all scored CVEs
- **CISA KEV:** Not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog
- **Threadlinqs priority:** 10/10 — a Threadlinqs composite of the CVSS base score, the EPSS percentile and public exploit availability
- **Published:** 2026-03-13, last modified 2026-03-23

## Is CVE-2026-32746 being exploited?

Weaponised exploit code for CVE-2026-32746 is publicly available. 1 public proof-of-concept repository is tracked for this identifier.

- [trickest/cve](https://github.com/trickest/cve/blob/main/2026/CVE-2026-32746.md) (trickest)

## Affected products and versions

- **GNU**: inetutils

## How to fix CVE-2026-32746

Vendor advisory: [https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/bug-inetutils/2026-03/msg00031.html](https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/bug-inetutils/2026-03/msg00031.html). Apply the vendor fix referenced above to every affected product listed in this record, then confirm the running version against the vendor advisory.

## Threat activity tracking CVE-2026-32746

1 tracked threat in the Threadlinqs corpus references CVE-2026-32746, either in the campaign’s CVE list or as an indicator on the campaign record.

- [CVE-2026-32746: Pre-Auth BSS Buffer Overflow in GNU inetutils telnetd LINEMODE SLC Handling](https://intel.threadlinqs.com/threat/TL-2026-1515) — HIGH · 2026-07-19

## Sources

Enriched from CVE.org, NVD, FIRST EPSS, GitHub Security Advisories, public proof-of-concept repositories. Last verified by Threadlinqs on 2026-07-19. This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD.

**Other references**

- [openwall.com](https://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/03/12/4)
- [lists.gnu.org](https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/bug-inetutils/2026-03/msg00031.html)

Canonical: https://intel.threadlinqs.com/cve/CVE-2026-32746
Full detection coverage and IOCs for threats exploiting CVE-2026-32746 via the Threadlinqs MCP server (Purple tier): https://intel.threadlinqs.com/mcp