Description
Gitea's organization repository-creation API requires write:organization but omits the write:repository token scope enforced by other repository-creation routes. A personal access token or OAuth application token without repository-write scope can therefore create organization-owned repositories if the authorizing user has permission to do so. This bypasses the token's delegated scope boundary while remaining subject to the user's organization permissions.
Published: 2026-10-14
Score: n/a
EPSS: < 1% Very Low
KEV: No
Impact: Authorization bypass
Action: Patch
AI Analysis

Impact

The vulnerability lies in Gitea's organization repository‑creation API, which accepts a token with write:organization scope even when the token lacks the required write:repository scope used by other repository‑creation routes. An attacker holding a personal access token or OAuth application token limited to organization scopes can therefore create new repositories that are owned by an organization. This bypasses the token’s delegated scope boundary while still obeying the user’s organizational permissions, enabling unauthorized repository creation.

Affected Systems

The affected product is Gitea. The issue is present in versions prior to 1.27.3; the patch in release 1.27.3 removes the incorrect scope validation.

Risk and Exploitability

No CVSS rating is listed for this issue, but the EPSS score of <1% indicates a very low but non‑zero exploitation probability. It is not included in the CISA KEV catalog. The vulnerability requires an authenticated API request with a token that has write:organization access; it does not involve unauthenticated access or network traversal. An attacker who can obtain such a token – by phishing, credential compromise, or other means – can use the organization‑repository creation endpoint to add organization repositories, potentially for malicious code deployment or data exfiltration.

Generated by OpenCVE AI on October 15, 2026 at 19:35 UTC.

Remediation

No solution or workaround provided in the CVE record.

OpenCVE Recommended Actions

  • Update Gitea to version 1.27.3 or later so that the organization repository‑creation API enforces the write:repository scope.
  • If an immediate update is not possible, revoke or restrict write:organization tokens that are not also granted write:repository scope to prevent unauthorized repository creation.
  • Audit and monitor token usage for write:organization scope, especially in organizations with large or critical repositories, to detect any anomalous creation events.

Generated by OpenCVE AI on October 15, 2026 at 19:35 UTC.

Tracking

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Advisories

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History

Wed, 14 Oct 2026 14:45:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description Gitea's organization repository-creation API requires write:organization but omits the write:repository token scope enforced by other repository-creation routes. A personal access token or OAuth application token without repository-write scope can therefore create organization-owned repositories if the authorizing user has permission to do so. This bypasses the token's delegated scope boundary while remaining subject to the user's organization permissions.
Title Gitea organization repository creation token scope bypass
Weaknesses CWE-863
References

Subscriptions

No data.

cve-icon MITRE

Status: PUBLISHED

Assigner: Gitea

Published:

Updated: 2026-10-14T14:36:36.550Z

Reserved: 2026-08-13T16:50:59.740Z

Link: CVE-2026-70396

cve-icon Vulnrichment

No data.

cve-icon NVD

Status : Deferred

Published: 2026-10-14T15:17:22.257

Modified: 2026-10-14T16:04:39.483

Link: CVE-2026-70396

cve-icon Redhat

No data.

cve-icon OpenCVE Enrichment

Updated: 2026-10-15T19:45:13Z

Weaknesses