CVE-2026-116289 in Gitea
Summary
by MITRE • 11/01/2026
Gitea did not reject personal access tokens restricted to public resources (`public-only`) on the organization Actions runner registration-token endpoint, and the runner registered with the resulting token was not limited to public repositories. Holding only such a token with `write:organization` that belongs to an owner of a public organization, an attacker could register an organization-level runner and receive jobs of the organization's private repositories that have Actions enabled, including the workflow content, Actions secrets and variables, and a task token with access to the private repository. The issue widens what the restricted token can reach; it gives nothing beyond what the owner's full account can already do.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/01/2026
The vulnerability in Gitea represents a critical authorization bypass within the organization-level Actions runner registration mechanism, specifically affecting tokens designated with public-only restrictions. Under normal operational parameters, personal access tokens scoped exclusively to public resources are intended to limit an attacker or unauthorized user from interacting with private organizational data. However, the flaw lies in the server-side validation logic of the endpoint used for registering GitHub Actions runners at the organization level. When a request is made using such a restricted token that also possesses write permissions on the organization itself, Gitea fails to enforce the public-only constraint during the registration process. Consequently, the system accepts the registration and provisions an action runner without applying the expected scope limitations, effectively creating a discrepancy between the declared capabilities of the token and its actual operational privileges within the CI/CD pipeline infrastructure.
From a technical perspective, this issue stems from insufficient access control checks on the organization Actions runner endpoint. The vulnerability allows an attacker holding a personal access token with write:organization permissions belonging to an owner of a public organization to register an organization-level runner. Once registered, this runner is not confined to processing jobs for public repositories as intended by the token's scope. Instead, it becomes eligible to receive and execute workflows triggered by private repositories within that same organization. This misconfiguration effectively elevates the privileges of the restricted token, granting it access to sensitive workflow content, Actions secrets, variables, and task tokens associated with private codebases. The attacker can thus exfiltrate proprietary source code, steal credentials stored in secrets, or potentially execute arbitrary commands on the runner environment using the provided task token.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is significant for organizations utilizing Gitea's continuous integration features. By exploiting this flaw, an adversary gains unauthorized access to private repository data and configuration details that should remain isolated from public-facing entities. This includes sensitive information such as API keys, database credentials, and deployment tokens stored in Actions secrets. Furthermore, the ability to receive jobs means the attacker can observe build logs and workflow definitions, potentially identifying architectural patterns or security configurations for further exploitation. Although the vulnerability does not grant privileges beyond what an organization owner's full account possesses, it allows a compromised or maliciously crafted public-scoped token to bypass intended isolation boundaries, thereby violating the principle of least privilege and compromising the confidentiality integrity of private organizational assets.
This flaw aligns with CWE-269, which describes Improper Privilege Management, as well as CWE-862, Missing Authorization, because the system fails to enforce the specific restrictions associated with the token's scope during a critical administrative action. In terms of the MITRE ATT&CK framework, this vulnerability facilitates lateral movement and credential access within the CI/CD pipeline environment, mapping closely to techniques involving unauthorized API access or exploitation of software vulnerabilities for privilege escalation. To mitigate this risk, administrators should immediately update Gitea to the latest patched version where the registration endpoint correctly validates token scopes against repository visibility settings. Additionally, organizations should audit their Actions runner configurations and rotate any secrets that may have been exposed through compromised runners. Implementing strict monitoring on runner registrations and limiting write:organization permissions to only essential personnel can further reduce the attack surface for such authorization bypass attempts.