CVE-2026-118395
Deferred Deferred - Pending Action

Gitea Public-Only Token Privilege Escalation

Publication date: 2026-11-01

Last updated on: 2026-11-01

Assigner: Gitea Limited

Description
Gitea 1.27.3 stopped personal access tokens restricted to public resources (`public-only`) from creating repositories through `POST /api/v1/user/repos` and `POST /api/v1/repos/migrate`, but `POST /api/v1/org/{org}/repos`, `POST /api/v1/orgs/{org}/repos`, `POST /api/v1/orgs` and `POST /api/v1/repos/{owner}/{repo}/generate` still accepted such tokens. A holder of a public-only token with the needed write scopes could create private repositories in organizations where the token's owner may create repositories, create private organizations, and generate private repositories from templates. The token still could not read the private repositories it created.

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Meta Information

Published
2026-11-01
Last Modified
2026-11-01
Generated
2026-11-01
AI Q&A
2026-11-01
EPSS Evaluated
N/A
NVD
CVE-2026-118395

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Showing 1 associated CPE
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Gitea Gitea 0

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Exploitability

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CWE ID Description
CWE-UNKNOWN

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Executive Summary

CVE-2026-118395 is a vulnerability in Gitea versions up to 28.2.0 where a deprecated API endpoint allows public-only access tokens to create private repositories despite restricted permissions. The issue occurs because the endpoint lacks a guard that rejects public-only tokens, enabling scope bypass. An attacker with a public-only token (with write:repository and write:organization scopes) can create private repositories in organizations where they have CanCreateOrgRepo permissions.

The vulnerability does not allow reading private data, as the token remains restricted for read operations.

Detection Guidance

Check Gitea logs for unauthorized repository creation attempts via deprecated endpoints like POST /org/{org}/repos or POST /orgs/{org}/repos. Monitor for tokens with write:repository and write:organization scopes creating private repositories in organizations where the token holder has CanCreateOrgRepo permissions.

Impact Analysis

An attacker with a public-only token could create private repositories in organizations where the token owner has permissions, potentially occupying namespaces or consuming quota. This could lead to unauthorized resource usage or conflicts in repository naming.

Mitigation Strategies

Upgrade Gitea to a version that includes the rejectPublicOnly() guard in all affected endpoints. Review and revoke any public-only tokens with write scopes. Restrict organization creation permissions and enforce stricter token policies.

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