CVE-2026-96580

Analyzed Analyzed - Analysis Complete

BaseFortify

Publication date: 2026-10-06

Last updated on: 2026-10-13

Assigner: Gitea Limited

Description

Gitea expanded a workflow's static `strategy.matrix` into its full Cartesian product without a size limit when creating a run, before the fork pull request approval gate applied. A user who can open a pull request from a fork could submit a small workflow file whose matrix expands to a very large number of jobs, consuming server memory and potentially terminating the Gitea process. No runner is required. Static matrices above 256 combinations are now rejected before expansion.

CVSS Scores

EPSS Scores

Probability:
Percentile:

Meta Information

Published

2026-10-06

Last Modified

2026-10-13

Generated

2026-10-19

AI Q&A

2026-10-07

EPSS Evaluated

2026-10-18

NVD

CVE-2026-96580

EUVD

EUVD-2026-93924

Affected Vendors & Products

Vendor	Product	Version / Range
gitea	gitea	to 28.0.0 (exc)

Helpful Resources

Exploitability

CWE

KEV

CWE ID	Description
CWE-400	The product does not properly control the allocation and maintenance of a limited resource.

Attack-Flow Graph

Executive Summary

This vulnerability in Gitea allows a user to create a workflow file with a matrix strategy that expands into an extremely large number of jobs, consuming excessive server memory. The system previously expanded these matrices without size limits, potentially crashing the Gitea process even without any runner involvement.

Detection Guidance

Check Gitea server logs for excessive job creation attempts or memory consumption spikes. Monitor for workflow files with large static matrix expansions. Use system monitoring tools to detect unusual resource usage by the Gitea process.

Impact Analysis

If you run a Gitea instance, an attacker could exploit this to cause a denial of service by submitting a malicious workflow that overloads server resources, leading to crashes or degraded performance for all users.

Compliance Impact

This vulnerability does not directly affect compliance with standards like GDPR or HIPAA as it pertains to a denial-of-service condition in Gitea's workflow processing rather than data protection or privacy issues.

Mitigation Strategies

Update Gitea to the latest version where static matrices above 256 combinations are rejected. Review and restrict workflow files from untrusted sources. Implement resource limits for Gitea processes to prevent memory exhaustion.

Hi! I’m here to help you understand CVE-2026-96580. Ask me anything about the vulnerability, its impact, or mitigation strategies.

0/70