Authentication Bypass in Gitea (CVE-2026-96404)
Summary
Authentication bypass in Gitea (CVE-2026-96404). Successful exploitation can lead to full system takeover. Exploitable via INSTALL_LOCK.
Original description
The description as published by the source.
When Gitea's web installer is reachable against a database that already contains users, such as after INSTALL_LOCK has been reset to false, submitting the install form with an administrator username matching an existing account issued an authenticated session for that account without verifying its password. If the account is an administrator, the session grants full administrative access, including changing the account's password. Databases with a single user also did not require the reinstall confirmation.
Source: NIST National Vulnerability Database NVD GitHub Advisory
Auto-generated summary
Assembled by SecPulse from the source data (CVSS, CWE, affected versions) using templates — no AI involved. Check the original description and references below for exact details.
A vulnerability tracked as CVE-2026-96404 has been found in Gitea.
Attackers can target a specific entry point like INSTALL_LOCK over the network to misuse the product.
Successful exploitation can lead to full system takeover. CVSS score: 8.1/10.
What to do: apply the vendor's official patched release.
If unsure, ask your IT team or search "Gitea CVE-2026-96404" on the vendor's site.
CVE-2026-96404 (Gitea) — CWE-287 / CVSS v3 8.1
Attack vector: remote (network-reachable) / unauthenticated / no user interaction
Attack surface: INSTALL_LOCK / false
Plan: 1) Audit SBOM/dependencies, 2) Stage→prod upgrade, 3) Add WAF/proxy monitoring on affected endpoints, 4) Hunt IOCs in logs.
Refs: see the GHSA / vendor advisory / patched release linked on this page.
Authentication bypass (CWE-287) exists in Gitea. Attackers reach the vulnerable code path via INSTALL_LOCK without authentication.
Check the vendor advisory for the affected versions of Gitea. Attack surface: INSTALL_LOCK / false.
Severity: High (CVSS 8.1/10). Successful exploitation can lead to full system takeover.
Update to the patched release per vendor advisory.
Until the patch is applied: disable the affected feature, apply WAF rules, or restrict access via network ACLs.
Search webserver/proxy logs for unusual request patterns matching this CVE's known IOCs. Run grep -r 'Gitea' . against your dependency files (package-lock.json, requirements.txt, go.sum) to find affected services.
Response actions
Concrete steps and command examples for SOC/SRE teams to execute in order
-
1Identify exposure identify
grep -r 'Gitea' . | grep -v node_modulesリポジトリと本番環境の依存ファイル (package-lock.json / requirements.txt / go.sum / Gemfile.lock 等) で
Giteaを grep し、稼働しているサービス・バージョンを把握する。 -
2Post-deployment verification verify
Confirm patched version is live in productionパッチ適用後、ステージングで PoC または同等の悪用パターンを再現して脆弱性が閉じたことを確認。本番ではアクセスログ・WAF でアラート再発が無いか継続監視。
Affected packages
References
- advisory github.com
- patch github.com
- web blog.gitea.com
- web github.com
- web nvd.nist.gov