Summary
Gitea: Public-only API token restriction is not enforced on team API routes
Gitea's /api/v1/teams/{id} API routes do not correctly enforce the public-only access token restriction.
A public-only token is intended to limit API access to public repositories and public organizations. However, several team API routes continue to return private team repository metadata and private team activity feed entries when called with a public-only token.
Details
The /api/v1/teams/{teamid} route group uses:
orgAssignment(false, true)
This loads ctx.Org.Team, but does not load ctx.Org.Organization.
The checkTokenPublicOnly middleware checks organization visibility through ctx.Org.Organization. When ctx.Org.Organization is nil, the organization visibility check silently passes.
In addition, the team repository handlers return repositories without applying repository-level public-only filtering:
repo_model.GetTeamRepositories(...)
convert.ToRepo(...)
They do not call:
ctx.TokenCanAccessRepo(repo)
The team activity feed handler also sets:
IncludePrivate: true
but does not apply:
opts.ApplyPublicOnly(ctx.PublicOnly)
PoC
Vulnerability is verified on latest gitea release (1.26.2) and nightly build.
Frist, create a public-only organization-scoped token for a user who is a member of a team in a private org with private repositories:
Use the returned token to request team repositories:
Expected result: Private repositories should be hidden or rejected for a public-only token.
Actual result: Private team repository metadata is returned.
The team activity feed endpoint can be tested similarly:
Impact
A public-only token can access private team resources that should be hidden from that token.
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-2026-58431 has a CVSS score of 4.3 (Medium). 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 (1.27.0); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.
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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Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2026-58431? CVE-2026-58431 is a medium-severity incorrect authorization vulnerability in gitea.dev (go), affecting versions < 1.27.0. It is fixed in 1.27.0. The application does not correctly enforce access controls, allowing a principal to access resources or operations beyond their granted permissions.
- How severe is CVE-2026-58431? CVE-2026-58431 has a CVSS score of 4.3 (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 gitea.dev are affected by CVE-2026-58431? gitea.dev (go) versions < 1.27.0 is affected.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2026-58431? Yes. CVE-2026-58431 is fixed in 1.27.0. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is CVE-2026-58431 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2026-58431 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-2026-58431 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.
- How do I fix CVE-2026-58431? Upgrade
gitea.devto 1.27.0 or later.