32-Year-Old Security Bug Found in GNU inetutils Telnet Server

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Security researchers at watchTowr Labs have uncovered a vulnerability in the GNU inetutils telnetd server that has existed for approximately 32 years. The flaw, tracked as CVE-2026-32746, affects the widely used open-source telnet daemon maintained under the GNU inetutils project. The discovery highlights how legacy network software can harbor critical security weaknesses for decades before being detected. Details of the vulnerability and its technical analysis were published by watchTowr Labs on their research blog.

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