CVE-2026-24791

Gitea: Public-only tokens bypass private-resource restrictions on /api/v1/user self routes

The public-only token flag is intended to limit a token or OAuth grant to public resources. These routes violate that boundary for private accounts.

Practical abuse scenarios include:

• a third-party app or leaked token with the route-required write scope, but restricted to public resources, adding SSH credentials or OAuth applications to a private account;
• a public-resource-restricted token with the route-required write scope modifying Actions secrets/variables or registering/managing runners;
• a token limited to public resources creating and enumerating private repositories;
• a supposedly public-only integration learning private repository, workflow, team, timing, subscription, webhook, and email metadata.

The application does not correctly enforce access controls, allowing a principal to access resources or operations beyond their granted permissions. Typical impact: unauthorized data access or execution of privileged operations.

CVE-2026-24791 has a CVSS score of 8.1 (High). The vector is network-reachable, low privileges required, and no user interaction. A CVSS score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether this affects your application depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable in your environment. A fixed version is available (1.26.2); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.

Kodem intelligence

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Apply public-only enforcement consistently to self routes under /api/v1/user.

At minimum:

• for self routes, treat ctx.Doer as the target user/resource owner when enforcing public-only; mechanically adding checkTokenPublicOnly() is not sufficient unless ctx.ContextUser is set to ctx.Doer or the check explicitly handles self routes;
• reject ctx.PublicOnly on credential, identity, OAuth application, repository creation, webhook, Actions, runner, and email-management self-route mutations;
• filter list routes so public-only tokens cannot return private repositories, private organization/team metadata, private workflow runs/jobs, private tracked time, private stopwatches, or hidden subscriptions;
• add regression coverage that compares each affected /api/v1/user/... route against the canonical private-user or private-repository endpoint.

Non-public-only tokens should preserve current behavior.

1. What is CVE-2026-24791? CVE-2026-24791 is a high-severity incorrect authorization vulnerability in code.gitea.io/gitea (go), affecting versions >= 1.22.3, <= 1.26.1. It is fixed in 1.26.2. The application does not correctly enforce access controls, allowing a principal to access resources or operations beyond their granted permissions.
2. How severe is CVE-2026-24791? CVE-2026-24791 has a CVSS score of 8.1 (High). This score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether it represents real risk in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable.
3. Which versions of code.gitea.io/gitea are affected by CVE-2026-24791? code.gitea.io/gitea (go) versions >= 1.22.3, <= 1.26.1 is affected.
4. Is there a fix for CVE-2026-24791? Yes. CVE-2026-24791 is fixed in 1.26.2. Upgrade to this version or later.
5. Is CVE-2026-24791 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2026-24791 is exploitable in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable. A CVSS score is a worst-case rating; it does not account for your specific deployment, configuration, or usage patterns. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to show which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so you can focus on the ones that represent real risk. Get a demo
6. What actually determines whether CVE-2026-24791 is exploitable, and how bad it is? Exploitability and impact are not fixed properties of a CVE. They depend on runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A high CVSS score on a dependency that never runs is not the same as real risk. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter.
7. How do I fix CVE-2026-24791? Upgrade code.gitea.io/gitea to 1.26.2 or later.

Other vulnerabilities in code.gitea.io/gitea