CVE-2026-20909 in Gitea
Summary
by MITRE • 07/04/2026
Gitea versions before 1.25.5 have insufficient permission checks when listing tracked time entries.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/04/2026
The vulnerability in Gitea versions prior to 1.25.5 represents a critical access control flaw that undermines the integrity of time tracking functionality within the platform. This issue stems from inadequate permission validation mechanisms that fail to properly verify user authorization levels before exposing tracked time entries. The flaw allows unauthorized users to access time records that should be restricted to specific project members or administrators, creating a significant security risk for organizations relying on Gitea for code repository management and collaboration. Such insufficient permission checks directly violate fundamental security principles of least privilege and access control enforcement.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability occurs within the time tracking module where the application fails to validate whether requesting users possess appropriate permissions to view tracked time entries associated with specific issues or pull requests. This weakness enables attackers to exploit the API endpoints or web interfaces that retrieve time tracking data without proper authentication checks. The flaw particularly affects scenarios where users attempt to access time records from projects they do not directly participate in, or when they try to view detailed time tracking information that should only be visible to project maintainers or administrators. This vulnerability can be classified under CWE-285, which addresses insufficient authorization within software systems.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data exposure, as tracked time entries often contain sensitive information about work completion rates, developer productivity metrics, and project timelines. Attackers could potentially use this access to gather intelligence about team activities, identify critical development schedules, or even exploit the information for social engineering purposes. Organizations using Gitea for enterprise-level development may face compliance violations if this vulnerability allows unauthorized access to proprietary time tracking data that could reveal internal project structures and resource allocation strategies.
Security mitigations for this vulnerability require immediate patching of affected Gitea installations to version 1.25.5 or later, which implements proper permission validation for time tracking entries. Organizations should also conduct comprehensive audits of their Gitea configurations to ensure that access controls are properly enforced across all modules, particularly those handling sensitive data like time tracking information. Additional defensive measures include implementing network-level access controls to restrict API endpoints, enabling detailed logging of time tracking access attempts, and conducting regular security assessments to identify similar permission validation gaps in other application components. This vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1068 by enabling unauthorized access to internal systems through insufficient access control mechanisms, potentially allowing attackers to escalate privileges or gather additional intelligence about the organization's development workflows and resource allocation patterns.