# CVE-2026-16455: Teltonika Networks RUTOS and TSWOS privilege escalation via unsafe execl call

Source: https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-16455-teltonika-networks-rutos-and-tswos-privilege-escalation-via  
Publisher: Junglewise Threat Intelligence, https://junglewise.ai/threats  
Published: 2026-08-13. Updated: 2026-09-25  
License: CC BY 4.0 with a link back

CVE-2026-16455 · Severity: info · Published 2026-08-13

Teltonika RUTOS and TSWOS are routing and switching operating systems used in industrial IoT and edge networking environments. A lower-privileged user can escalate to administrative privileges due to unsafe function calls, allowing a local attacker with basic user access to take complete control of the device and its network operations.

Technologies: [Teltonika Networks RUTOS](https://junglewise.ai/threats/technologies/rutos), [Teltonika Networks TSWOS](https://junglewise.ai/threats/technologies/tswos). Vendors: [Teltonika Networks](https://junglewise.ai/threats/vendors/teltonika-networks).

## Quick answers

**Is CVE-2026-16455 exploited in the wild?** No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-2026-16455 being exploited in the wild.

**How severe is CVE-2026-16455?** Informational severity, published 13 August 2026.

**Which products and versions are affected?** Teltonika Networks RUTOS 7.07.1 through 7.24.1; Teltonika Networks TSWOS 1.03 through 1.10.

**Is there a fix for CVE-2026-16455?** No fixed version is recorded yet. Check the vendor's advisory in the references below. If you run it, Junglewise drafts a mitigation that fits your setup and applies it once you approve, with senior security engineers behind it.

**How is CVE-2026-16455 attacked?** It is attacked with local access, in device firmware.

**Am I affected by CVE-2026-16455?** Check whether you run Teltonika Networks RUTOS or Teltonika Networks TSWOS at an affected version. Junglewise does that check for you around the clock: connect your code, cloud and domains, and it matches new vulnerabilities like this one against what you actually run and tells you when one reaches you.

## Technical details

This vulnerability is a local privilege escalation flaw caused by unsafe calls to the execl function in Teltonika RUTOS (versions 7.07.1 through 7.24.1) and TSWOS (versions 1.03 through 1.10). The vulnerability allows a lower-privileged user to escalate privileges to the administrative level. An attacker with local user access can exploit this to achieve root-level code execution. The attack vector is local, requiring existing user-level access to the device. Patches are expected to be available from Teltonika Networks.

## Affected products

- Teltonika Networks RUTOS 7.07.1 through 7.24.1
- Teltonika Networks TSWOS 1.03 through 1.10

## Timeline

- 2026-08-13: disclosed

## References

- [https://www.teltonika-networks.com/support/security-centre?report=CVE-2026-16455++](https://www.teltonika-networks.com/support/security-centre?report=CVE-2026-16455++)

## Related threats

- [Teltonika Networks RUTOS and TSWOS unauthenticated OS command execution](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-82104-in-teltonika-networks-rutos-devices-running-versions-from-7-22)
- [Teltonika Networks RUTOS command injection in backup function](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-75826-command-injection-in-the-backup-function-in-teltonika-networks)
- [Teltonika Networks RUTOS heap buffer overflow in modbusgwd](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-18368-teltonika-networks-rutos-heap-buffer-overflow-in-modbusgwd)
- [Teltonika Networks RUTOS and TSWOS command injection in rpc-profile](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-8914-teltonika-networks-rutos-and-tswos-command-injection-in-rpc)