VulnerabilityPublished 1 Nov 2026

CVE-2026-117635: Gitea · Improper Access Control

Affects GiteaSource CVE Database V5

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Not known to be exploited : upgrade to 28.3.0 soon.

Data as of 1 Nov 2026, 10:07 UTC

Severity

High

Rated High by Threat Radar's AI analysis · CVSS not yet scored by NVD

Thin evidence

One scorer or none

Patch: Available – fixed in 28.3.0

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 1 Nov 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.

cwe-1259

What to do

Upgrade Gitea and github.com/go-gitea/gitea to 28.3.0.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
Giteagitea.dev	Affected <28.3.0	Fixed in 28.3.0
Gogithub.com/go-gitea/gitea`pkg:golang/github.com/go-gitea/gitea`Other threats	Affected <28.3.0	Fixed in 28.3.0

Check your own hosts for these packages with threat-finder (opens in a new tab), our free open-source scanner.

AI-suggested

Upgrade Gitea to version 28.3.0 or later, where the vulnerability is fixed by rejecting public-only tokens on the admin API routes. This update prevents public-only tokens from accessing administrative functions improperly. No additional mitigation is required once the system is updated.

Description

CVE-2026-117635 is an improper access control vulnerability in Gitea affecting versions prior to 28.3.0. The issue arises because the /api/v1/admin route group did not enforce the 'public-only' restriction on personal access tokens. This allowed a public-only token with admin scope, issued by a site administrator, to perform unauthorized actions such as listing private organizations and user email addresses, creating organizations, obtaining runner registration tokens, and creating new site administrator accounts. Notably, the created admin accounts persist even after the token is revoked. Tokens from non-administrator users cannot access these routes. The vulnerability is fixed in version 28.3.0, where public-only tokens are rejected on the admin API.

Impact

An attacker with a public-only personal access token that has admin scope, issued by a site administrator, can perform unauthorized administrative actions. These include enumerating private organizations and user email addresses, creating organizations, obtaining runner registration tokens, and creating new site administrator accounts that remain active even after token revocation. This could lead to unauthorized administrative control and data exposure. Tokens from non-administrator users are not affected and cannot access these routes.

CWE-284Improper Access Control (opens in a new tab)
Pillar weaknessCWE Top 25 (2025): #19OWASP Top 10 A01:2025: Broken Access Control (opens in a new tab)
The product does not restrict or incorrectly restricts access to a resource from an unauthorized actor.
MITRE discourages mapping vulnerabilities to this broad entry; the root cause is usually a more specific weakness.
Architecture and Design · Operation
Very carefully manage the setting, management, and handling of privileges. Explicitly manage trust zones in the software.
Architecture and Design · Separation of Privilege
Compartmentalize the system to have "safe" areas where trust boundaries can be unambiguously drawn. Do not allow sensitive data to go outside of the trust boundary and always be careful when interfacing with a compartment outside of the safe area.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Docker Security (opens in a new tab)
Third Party Javascript Management (opens in a new tab)
Virtual Patching (opens in a new tab)
Authorization (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V1.4.4 (opens in a new tab)
V1.4.5 (opens in a new tab)
V1.10.1 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Embedding Scripts within Scripts (opens in a new tab)
Modification of Windows Service Configuration (opens in a new tab)
Malicious Root Certificate (opens in a new tab)
Intent Spoof (opens in a new tab)
WebView Exposure (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 1 Nov 2026, 10:07 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-284

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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