CVE-2026-58433 in Gitea
Summary
by MITRE • 08/13/2026
Team-repository linking endpoint bypasses the RepoAdminChangeTeamAccess organization setting
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/13/2026
This vulnerability represents a critical access control flaw in repository management systems where team repository linking endpoints fail to properly validate against organizational security policies. The issue occurs when the system allows users to bypass the RepoAdminChangeTeamAccess organization setting, which should restrict who can modify team access permissions for repositories within an organization. This misconfiguration creates a privilege escalation vector where unauthorized team members or external attackers can manipulate repository access controls despite administrative policies that should prevent such modifications.
The technical implementation flaw stems from insufficient input validation and authorization checks within the team repository linking endpoint. When users attempt to modify team access permissions through this interface, the system fails to properly authenticate whether the requesting entity has the necessary organizational privileges to perform such actions. This bypass mechanism typically occurs due to missing or improperly implemented access control logic that does not consistently reference the organization-level settings that govern team administration rights.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability enables attackers to gain unauthorized access to sensitive repository resources by manipulating team membership and permissions. An attacker who successfully exploits this flaw can elevate their privileges within the repository ecosystem, potentially gaining access to confidential code repositories, build artifacts, or other sensitive organizational data. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous in environments where multiple teams collaborate on shared repositories with varying levels of access requirements.
Security controls for this type of vulnerability align with CWE-285, which addresses improper authorization in access control mechanisms, and map directly to ATT&CK technique T1078.1.004 for Valid Accounts and T1484.1 for Domain Policy Modification. Organizations should implement comprehensive access control validation that consistently enforces organizational settings across all repository management interfaces. The recommended mitigations include strengthening input validation procedures, implementing proper authorization checks at the endpoint level, and ensuring that organization-wide security policies are consistently enforced regardless of the access path used by users.
The remediation strategy requires organizations to review and update their repository management systems to ensure that all team linking endpoints properly validate against organizational access control settings. This involves implementing consistent authentication mechanisms that verify both user credentials and organizational policy compliance before allowing any changes to team permissions. Additionally, organizations should establish logging and monitoring procedures to detect unauthorized attempts to bypass access controls, which can help identify potential exploitation attempts and provide forensic evidence for security investigations.
Organizations utilizing cloud-based repository management systems should also ensure their platform configurations properly enforce the RepoAdminChangeTeamAccess setting across all available interfaces and API endpoints. This includes regular security assessments of repository management tools to identify similar bypass vulnerabilities that may exist in other administrative functions. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of maintaining consistent security policies across all system components and highlights the need for comprehensive access control testing during security audits and penetration testing activities.