CVE-2026-58444 in Gitea
Summary
by MITRE • 08/13/2026
Personal access token scope enforcement bypass on the repository home page (`GET /{owner}/{repo}`) discloses private repository contents
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/13/2026
This vulnerability represents a critical access control flaw in GitHub's authentication and authorization mechanisms that allows unauthorized users to bypass token scope restrictions when accessing repository information through the repository home page endpoint. The issue occurs specifically when a personal access token with limited permissions attempts to access a private repository via the GET /{owner}/{repo} API endpoint, which should normally enforce scope-based access controls but fails to properly validate token permissions against the requested resource.
The technical implementation flaw stems from how GitHub processes authentication requests for repository metadata retrieval. When a request is made to the repository home page endpoint using a personal access token, the system should verify that the token possesses sufficient scope permissions to access the target repository. However, this validation mechanism contains a bypass condition where certain token scopes are not properly checked against repository access requirements, allowing users with read-only or restricted token permissions to retrieve private repository contents through the API endpoint.
This vulnerability has significant operational implications for organizations relying on GitHub's access control mechanisms. Attackers could exploit this flaw to gain unauthorized access to sensitive code repositories, configuration files, and other private resources that should only be accessible to authorized personnel with appropriate scopes. The bypass affects the fundamental security model of GitHub's token-based authentication system, potentially exposing intellectual property, source code, and confidential information across thousands of repositories.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-285: "Improper Authorization" and demonstrates weaknesses in access control enforcement within API endpoints. From an ATT&CK perspective, this represents a privilege escalation technique that could be leveraged to move laterally within an organization's codebase or to extract sensitive information from restricted repositories. The flaw essentially allows adversaries to bypass the intended security boundaries established by token scope definitions.
Organizations should immediately review their personal access token configurations and implement additional monitoring for unauthorized API access patterns. Mitigation strategies include enforcing stricter scope validation at the repository endpoint level, implementing rate limiting for suspicious API requests, and ensuring that token permissions are properly audited on a regular basis. Additionally, GitHub users should be educated about the importance of granting minimal required scopes for personal access tokens and regularly rotating credentials to reduce potential exposure windows.
Security teams should also consider implementing automated monitoring solutions that can detect anomalous access patterns to private repositories, particularly when access occurs through API endpoints that should normally enforce stricter authorization checks. The vulnerability highlights the critical need for continuous security testing of authentication mechanisms and proper validation of access control decisions at all API entry points, especially those handling sensitive repository metadata. This flaw underscores the importance of maintaining robust security boundaries even in well-established platforms like GitHub where users may assume default security protections are sufficient.
The exploitability of this vulnerability depends on the attacker's ability to obtain a valid personal access token with limited scopes that can be used to make requests to private repositories through the specific API endpoint. While the bypass requires some initial access to a token, it eliminates the need for additional privilege escalation techniques and can provide attackers with comprehensive repository information that could aid in further exploitation attempts. This makes the vulnerability particularly dangerous as it can serve as an initial reconnaissance step in more complex attack campaigns targeting sensitive code repositories and organizational infrastructure.