CVE-2026-58432 in Gitea
Summary
by MITRE • 08/13/2026
Missing Authorization and Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key and Incorrect Permission Assignment for Critical Resource and Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor in code.gitea.io/gitea
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/13/2026
The vulnerability identified in code.gitea.io/gitea represents a critical authorization flaw that allows unauthorized actors to bypass security controls through user-controlled keys and improper permission assignments. This issue manifests as a combination of missing authorization checks and incorrect permission assignment for critical resources, creating pathways for privilege escalation and data exposure. The vulnerability stems from insufficient validation mechanisms that fail to properly verify user permissions before granting access to sensitive operations or information within the Gitea code repository management system.
The technical implementation of this flaw involves user-controllable parameters being used as authorization keys without proper sanitization or verification processes. Attackers can manipulate these parameters to gain unauthorized access to repositories, modify code, view sensitive information, or perform administrative functions that should be restricted to authorized users only. The vulnerability specifically affects the authorization framework where critical resources are not properly protected by adequate permission checks, allowing malicious actors to exploit weak controls through crafted inputs or manipulated session data.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability creates severe security implications for organizations using Gitea as their primary code management platform. The exposure of sensitive information to unauthorized actors can result in intellectual property theft, code tampering, and potential compromise of development environments. The authorization bypass capability means that attackers can escalate privileges without proper authentication, potentially leading to full system compromise if the affected components have elevated access rights. Organizations may experience data breaches, regulatory compliance violations, and reputational damage due to unauthorized access to source code repositories.
The vulnerability aligns with multiple CWE entries including CWE-284 for improper access control and CWE-285 for insufficient authorization. It also maps to ATT&CK techniques such as T1078 for valid accounts and T1566 for spearphishing with a malicious attachment, as attackers can leverage this flaw to gain unauthorized access through manipulated user-controlled parameters. The issue demonstrates poor security architecture practices where input validation is insufficient and permission boundaries are not properly enforced, creating attack surfaces that can be exploited by adversaries with minimal technical expertise.
Effective mitigations for this vulnerability require comprehensive authorization framework improvements including mandatory input sanitization, strict permission validation before resource access, and implementation of proper role-based access controls. Organizations should implement robust session management, enforce principle of least privilege, and conduct regular security audits to identify and remediate similar authorization flaws. Additionally, the codebase requires thorough review of all user-controlled inputs that may influence access decisions, implementation of automated security testing, and establishment of secure coding practices that prevent unauthorized key usage in authorization contexts. The fix should ensure that all critical resource operations require proper authentication tokens and permission verification before execution, eliminating the possibility for attackers to manipulate authorization parameters for unauthorized access.