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CVE-2026-22547 – Input Validation Bypass in Repository Creation – Gitea before 1.25.5

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Summary

CVE-2026-22547 is a critical-severity improper input validation vulnerability (CWE-20) in Gitea Open Source Git Server affecting all versions prior to 1.25.5. The flaw resides in the repository creation functionality, where the absence of validation constraints on user-supplied fields allows unauthenticated remote attackers to submit malformed or oversized values that reach the database layer. With a CVSS v3.1 score of 9.1, this vulnerability carries High confidentiality and High integrity impact, making it a severe risk for any internet-exposed Gitea deployment.

Technical details

  • Root cause: Repository creation endpoints — both the web form (CreateRepoForm) and the REST API (CreateRepoOption) — lacked input validation constraints. Specifically, string fields had no maximum length enforcement and enumerated fields accepted arbitrary values not in their predefined sets.
  • Affected fields: Length-constrained fields including License (up to 100 characters), Gitignores, IssueLabels, and Readme (up to 255 characters each); enumerated fields ObjectFormatName (valid values: sha1, sha256) and TrustModel (valid values: default, collaborator, committer, collaboratorcommitter).
  • Trigger conditions: Any unauthenticated actor can submit a crafted repository-creation request (via web or API) with oversized or out-of-enum values; no account, session, or prior access is required.
  • Attack vector: Network-reachable; low complexity; no privileges required; no user interaction required.
  • Impact: The License field was explicitly identified in the patch as a database query/insert parameter, meaning malformed input reaches the database layer directly. The CVSS metrics reflect High confidentiality and High integrity impact, consistent with data disclosure and unauthorized data manipulation at the database level.
  • Fix: The patch introduced MaxSize tag enforcement for length-limited fields and In() validators for enumerated fields, applied consistently across both the web form and API structures. The fix was backported to the v1.25 release branch via GitHub pull requests #36671 and #36757.

Affected software

  • Gitea Open Source Git Server — all versions before 1.25.5

Severity

  • CVSS v3.1 Base Score: 9.1 (Critical)
  • Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N

Mitigation and recommended actions

  • Immediate: Upgrade Gitea to version 1.25.5 or later. The fix was released on March 16, 2026, as part of the Gitea 1.25.5 security release, which addressed 14 CVEs.
  • If immediate patching is not possible: Restrict network access to the Gitea repository creation endpoints (web and API) to trusted IP ranges or internal networks only. Consider disabling unauthenticated (anonymous) access to the Gitea instance until the patch is applied.

IONIX Status

The IONIX research team is tracking ongoing exploitation attempts and recommends immediate patching. Potentially affected assets are outlined in this post.

References

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