Vulnerabilities

Gitea before 1.27.1 contains a critical code injection flaw (CWE-94) in the diffpatch API that allows remote code execution by causing the installation of a Git hook. An attacker can submit a crafted request through the diffpatch API to plant a Git hook, which then executes arbitrary shell commands on the server when Git operations run; the CVSS vector indicates the attack requires no authentication or user interaction, while public reporting describes attackers with repository write access planting hooks to run shell commands. Successful exploitation yields full server compromise (confidentiality, integrity, and availability all rated high), and observed attacks have reportedly dropped a cryptocurrency miner. All Gitea deployments running versions prior to 1.27.1 are affected, with internet-facing instances at greatest risk; public scans identified over 8,300 vulnerable Gitea servers. The flaw is actively exploited in the wild: CISA added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 2026-08-25, and EPSS estimates an 86.8% probability of exploitation within 30 days.

Do: Upgrade Gitea to version 1.27.1 or later immediately; organizations subject to BOD 26-04 must apply the vendor mitigation or discontinue use of unpatched cloud-hosted instances. Until patched, limit internet exposure of Gitea servers and inspect repository hook directories for unauthorized or recently modified hooks that could serve as persistence. Check for signs of compromise, including unexpected processes or cryptocurrency-miner activity, since in-the-wold attacks reportedly deploy a miner.

Gitea does not properly validate repository ownership when linking attachments to releases. An attachment uploaded to a private repository could potentially be linked to a release in a different public repository, making it accessible to unauthorized users.

In Gitea before 1.25.2, /api/v1/user has different responses for failed authentication depending on whether a username exists.

In Gitea before 1.20.1, a forbidden URL scheme such as javascript: can be used for a link, aka XSS.

In Gitea through 1.17.1, repo cloning can occur in the migration function.

Open Redirect in GitHub repository go-gitea/gitea prior to 1.19.4.

In Jenkins Gitea Plugin 1.4.4 and earlier, the implementation of Gitea personal access tokens did not support credentials masking, potentially exposing them through the build log.

Gitea before 1.17.3 does not sanitize and escape refs in the git backend. Arguments to git commands are mishandled.

In Gitea before 1.16.9, it was possible for users to add existing issues to projects. Due to improper access controls, an attacker could assign any issue to any project in Gitea (there was no permission check for fetching the issue). As a result, the attacker would get access to private issue titles.

Cross-site Scripting (XSS) - Stored in GitHub repository go-gitea/gitea prior to 1.16.9.

Gitea before 1.16.7 does not escape git fetch remote.

An arbitrary file deletion vulnerability in Gitea v1.16.3 allows attackers to cause a Denial of Service (DoS) via deleting the configuration file.

Open Redirect on login in GitHub repository go-gitea/gitea prior to 1.16.5.

The avatar middleware in Gitea before 1.13.6 allows Directory Traversal via a crafted URL.

Missing Authorization in GitHub repository go-gitea/gitea prior to 1.16.4.

An issue exsits in Gitea through 1.15.7, which could let a malicious user gain privileges due to client side cookies not being deleted and the session remains valid on the server side for reuse.

Gitea before 1.11.2 is affected by Trusting HTTP Permission Methods on the Server Side when referencing the vulnerable admin or user API. which could let a remote malisious user execute arbitrary code.

Gitea 1.12.x and 1.13.x before 1.13.4 allows XSS via certain issue data in some situations.

Stack buffer overflow vulnerability in gitea 1.9.0 through 1.13.1 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (crash) via vectors related to a file path.

Gitea 0.9.99 through 1.12.x before 1.12.6 does not prevent a git protocol path that specifies a TCP port number and also contains newlines (with URL encoding) in ParseRemoteAddr in modules/auth/repo_form.go.

The git hook feature in Gitea 1.1.0 through 1.12.5 might allow for authenticated remote code execution in customer environments where the documentation was not understood (e.g., one viewpoint is that the dangerousness of this feature should be documented immediately above the ENABLE_GIT_HOOKS line in the config file). NOTE: The vendor has indicated this is not a vulnerability and states "This is a functionality of the software that is limited to a very limited subset of accounts. If you give someone the privilege to execute arbitrary code on your server, they can execute arbitrary code on your server. We provide very clear warnings to users around this functionality and what it provides.

An issue was discovered in Gitea through 1.11.5. An attacker can trigger a deadlock by initiating a transfer of a repository's ownership from one organization to another.

Gitea 1.7.0 and earlier is affected by: Cross Site Scripting (XSS). The impact is: Attacker is able to have victim execute arbitrary JS in browser. The component is: go-get URL generation - PR to fix: https://github.com/go-gitea/gitea/pull/5905. The attack vector is: victim must open a specifically crafted URL. The fixed version is: 1.7.1 and later.

Gitea 1.7.2, 1.7.3 is affected by: Cross Site Scripting (XSS). The impact is: execute JavaScript in victim's browser, when the vulnerable repo page is loaded. The component is: repository's description. The attack vector is: victim must navigate to public and affected repo page.

Jenkins Gitea Plugin 1.1.1 and earlier did not implement trusted revisions, allowing attackers without commit access to the Git repo to change Jenkinsfiles even if Jenkins is configured to consider them to be untrusted.

Gitea before 1.8.0 allows 1FA for user accounts that have completed 2FA enrollment. If a user's credentials are known, then an attacker could send them to the API without requiring the 2FA one-time password.

models/repo_mirror.go in Gitea before 1.7.6 and 1.8.x before 1.8-RC3 mishandles mirror repo URL settings, leading to remote code execution.

Gitea version 1.6.2 and earlier contains a Incorrect Access Control vulnerability in Delete/Edit file functionallity that can result in the attacker deleting files outside the repository he/she has access to. This attack appears to be exploitable via the attacker must get write access to "any" repository including self-created ones.. This vulnerability appears to have been fixed in 1.6.3, 1.7.0-rc2.