abadidea2d ago
enjoyed this telnetd analysis. (if you can’t believe anyone has a legitimate operational reason to run telnet, you live in a cozy world indeed) https://labs.watchtowr.com/a-32-year-old-bug-walks-into-a-telnet-server-gnu-inetutils-telnetd-cve-2026-32746/
A 32-Year-Old Bug Walks Into A Telnet Server (GNU inetutils Telnetd CVE-2026-32746)

A long, long time ago, in a land free of binary exploit mitigations, when Unix still roamed the Earth, there lived a pre-authentication Telnetd vulnerability. In fact, this vulnerability was born so long ago (way back in 1994) that it may even be older than you. To put the timespan

watchTowr Labs
Show threadGlyph2d ago
@0xabad1dea do you have a specific example of such a legit need? I do not typically think of myself as “sheltered” but this one eludes me
Show threadabadidea2d ago
@glyph wander into any factory in the world and you'll find 30yo industrial machinery that's been running the same firmware the entire time and trying to fiddle with it is liable to end the business
Show threadV
@0xabad1dea @glyph For more specific examples: Someone I know had to use telnet to connect to something (a mill or lathe, possibly was just one of each) at a shop she worked in not too long ago.
In uni, I had to use telnet to connect to a telescope for some physics classes.
Mar 25 at 7:02amWeb
Show threadKevin Karhan 2d ago
@miss_rodent @0xabad1dea @glyph a lot of scientific and industrial equipment runs on very old stuff cuz that never got upgraded (nor was it feasible or even possible to do so!)
Show threadV2d ago
@kkarhan @0xabad1dea @glyph Yeah, even when it is possible/feasible...
Do you want to build a new telescope - including all the permitting headaches, cost, fees, etc. - or do you want to spend an extra 10-20 minutes each year to teach a few 19-year-olds how to connect over telnet.
Show threadKevin Karhan 2d ago

@miss_rodent @0xabad1dea @glyph Same goes for everything similarly nieche in medical, industry and science.

  • Yeah, it's old, outdated and so forth but it still works fine and neither is there budget for "upgrades" nor is there a pressing need and the few people who can even access it have a vested interest in keeping it operational.
    • This ain't like a banking mainframe or payment backend or something similarly juicy "worth hacking" as everyone would dislike that...
Show threadV2d ago
@0xabad1dea @glyph So - not something most people have to deal with day-to-day, but, if you need to communicate remotely with old machinery, it still comes up. A lot of stuff like that works on a 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' policy.
... Especially if 'fix it' involves hauling parts into orbit, or to the top of a mountain in a remote corner of the country without too much light pollution (yet).