CVE-2026-73814

Deferred Deferred - Pending Action

Gitea Repository Ownership Escalation via Admin Access

Publication date: 2026-10-14

Last updated on: 2026-10-18

Assigner: Gitea Limited

Description

Gitea's collaboration access-mode endpoint accepts the Owner access mode from an authenticated repository collaborator with Admin access. The collaborator can promote their effective permissions from Admin to Owner and then perform owner-only operations, including transferring the repository to their own account. This bypasses the intended boundary between repository administration and ownership.

CVSS Scores

EPSS Scores

Probability:
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Meta Information

Published

2026-10-14

Last Modified

2026-10-18

Generated

2026-10-19

AI Q&A

2026-10-15

EPSS Evaluated

2026-10-18

NVD

CVE-2026-73814

EUVD

EUVD-2026-101109

Affected Vendors & Products

Vendor	Product	Version / Range
Gitea	Gitea	0

Helpful Resources

Exploitability

CWE

KEV

CWE ID	Description
CWE-266	A product incorrectly assigns a privilege to a particular actor, creating an unintended sphere of control for that actor.

Attack-Flow Graph

Executive Summary

This vulnerability in Gitea allows an authenticated repository collaborator with Admin access to escalate their permissions to Owner by submitting a specific value to the collaboration access-mode endpoint. This bypasses intended access controls, enabling the collaborator to perform Owner-only actions such as transferring the repository to their own account.

Detection Guidance

To detect this vulnerability, check Gitea server logs for unauthorized collaborator permission changes or repository transfers. Look for POST requests to /api/v1/repos/{owner}/{repo}/collaborators/{collaborator}/permission with mode=4. Verify Gitea version is below 1.27.2 using commands like 'gitea --version' or checking the admin panel.

Impact Analysis

An attacker with Admin collaborator access could take over private repositories by escalating to Owner privileges. This could lead to unauthorized repository transfers, data theft, or disruption of repository operations. The impact includes potential loss of repository control and compromised integrity of repository contents.

Compliance Impact

This vulnerability could lead to unauthorized access to sensitive data, violating confidentiality requirements in GDPR and HIPAA. Organizations using Gitea must ensure proper access controls are enforced to maintain compliance with data protection regulations.

Mitigation Strategies

Upgrade Gitea to version 1.27.2 or later immediately using your package manager or by downloading the latest release from the official repository.
Review all repository collaborators with Admin access and remove any suspicious accounts or downgrade permissions to Read or Write.
Audit repository ownership and transfer logs for any unauthorized changes in the past 30 days.
Monitor network traffic for unusual API calls to the collaboration endpoints, especially those with mode=4 parameters.

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