Summary
Gogs: Access tokens get exposed through URL params in API requests
Full technical description
The Gogs API still accepts tokens in URL parameters such as token and access_token, which can leak through logs, browser history, and referrers.
Details
A static review shows that the API still checks tokens in the URL query before looking at headers:
- internal/context/auth.go reads
c.Query("token") - internal/context/auth.go falls back to
c.Query("access_token") - internal/context/auth.go only checks the
Authorizationheader when the query token is empty - internal/context/auth.go authenticates using that token and marks the request as token-authenticated
Token-authenticated requests are accepted by API routes through c.IsTokenAuth checks:
- internal/route/api/v1/api.go
Remediation
A fix is available at https://github.com/gogs/gogs/releases/tag/v0.14.2.
Impact
If tokens are sent in URLs such as /api/v1/user?token=..., they can leak in logs, browser or shell history, and referrer headers, and can be reused until revoked.
CVE-2026-26196 has a CVSS score of 5.3 (Medium). The vector is network-reachable, no 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. No fixed version is listed yet, so configuration controls and monitoring matter more in the interim.
Affected versions
Security releases
Kodem intelligence
Severity tells you how bad this could be in the worst case. It does not tell you whether you are exposed. Exploitability and impact are functions of runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A vulnerable package can sit in your dependency tree and never run.
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. Kodem's runtime-powered SCA identifies whether this CVE is reachable in your applications.
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- Authentication headers should be used exclusively for token transmission.
- Token parameters should be blocked at the proxy or WAF level.
- Query strings should be scrubbed from logs.
- A strict referrer policy should be set.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2026-26196? CVE-2026-26196 is a medium-severity security vulnerability in gogs.io/gogs (go), affecting versions <= 0.13.3. No fixed version is listed yet.
- How severe is CVE-2026-26196? CVE-2026-26196 has a CVSS score of 5.3 (Medium). 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.
- Which versions of gogs.io/gogs are affected by CVE-2026-26196? gogs.io/gogs (go) versions <= 0.13.3 is affected.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2026-26196? No fixed version is listed for CVE-2026-26196 yet. Monitor the advisory for updates and apply mitigations in the interim.
- Is CVE-2026-26196 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2026-26196 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
- What actually determines whether CVE-2026-26196 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.