Gitea lets repository admins escalate to owner
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- High
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Privilege escalation
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- None · High · High
- Fix status
- No fix listed
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CISA ADP. Fix status from CNA. Impact type from CWE-266.
Summary
Gitea from 0 through 1.27.1 accepts the Owner access mode at its collaborator access-mode endpoint. An authenticated collaborator with Admin access can promote their own permissions to Owner, bypassing the intended boundary between repository administration and ownership (CWE-266). The collaborator can then perform owner-only operations, including transferring the repository to their own account.
Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-10-28
Description from the CNA
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.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Partial
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
Remediation
The sources list no fixed version for Gitea.
Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-10-28
Timeline
- 2026-10-14 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-73814
- 2026-10-18 CVSS score added · CISA ADP
- 2026-10-18 CISA SSVC decision points changed
References
More Gitea vulnerabilities
- TI-2026-42785 Gitea before 1.27.1 allows remote code execution via the diffpatch API through Git hook installation. KEVCVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2026-42033 Improper authorization on OAuth sign-in callback silently re-enables administrator-disabled accounts CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2026-40842 Privilege Escalation via Access Token Scope Escalation in API CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2026-16922 Gitea Docker image trusts spoofable reverse-proxy headers by default CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2026-42043 Team-repository linking endpoint bypasses the RepoAdminChangeTeamAccess organization setting CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.1
- TI-2026-40381 OIDC userinfo Endpoint Returns Identity Claims Without Enforcing API Token Scopes CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.1
Sources
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences