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CVE-2026-27660 – Authorization Bypass in Draft Release Management – Gitea before 1.25.5

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Summary

CVE-2026-27660 is a high-severity improper access control vulnerability (CWE-284) in Gitea, a widely deployed self-hosted Git server. Gitea versions before 1.25.5 fail to enforce the required write permission check on draft release data and attachments, allowing unauthenticated, network-based attackers to access or manipulate unpublished release artifacts. With a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.5 (HIGH), this vulnerability poses a significant risk to the integrity of software supply chain pipelines managed through publicly exposed Gitea instances.

Technical details

  • Root cause: A missing or incorrect permission check in Gitea’s release draft functionality (CWE-284: Improper Access Control), specifically within the logic governing access to draft releases and their associated file attachments. The flaw was corrected in pull requests #36659 and #36715.
  • Trigger conditions: No authentication, no prior privileges, and no user interaction are required to trigger the vulnerability.
  • Attack vector: Fully remote and network-exploitable (AV:N/AC:L) with no complexity barrier; any unauthenticated party with network access to the Gitea instance can attempt exploitation.
  • Impact: Attackers can access draft release data or attachments without holding the write permission that Gitea is intended to enforce, resulting in a high integrity impact (I:H). Unpublished release artifacts — including binaries and checksums staged for distribution — may be exposed or tampered with prior to official publication.

Affected software

  • Gitea Open Source Git Server — all versions before 1.25.5

Severity

  • CVSS v3.1 Base Score: 7.5 (HIGH)
  • Vector String: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N

Mitigation and recommended actions

  • Immediate: Upgrade to Gitea 1.25.5 or later, which contains the patch for this vulnerability (via PRs #36659 and #36715).
  • If immediate patching is not possible: Restrict network access to the Gitea instance — particularly the releases API and draft endpoints — using firewall rules, reverse-proxy ACLs, or VPN enforcement, to limit exposure to trusted networks only until the upgrade can be 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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