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NVD / CVE Program· CNA Gitea

CVE-2026-20896: Gitea Docker image trusts spoofable reverse-proxy headers by default

Noroxi assessment

Priority: Plan (action score 40/100)

  • A ready-made attack module is public (Nuclei); exploiting it takes no special expertise.
  • Public proof-of-concept code exists (GitHub); there is no record of exploitation in the wild.
  • Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days: 2.7% (FIRST EPSS); higher than 86.2% of all records.
  • Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it. No account or password is required. No user action is required. No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
  • According to CISA the attack is automatable: targets can be found by mass scanning.
  • Fixed version: code.gitea.io/gitea (Go) 1.26.3.
  • Mentioned 1 time in Turkish national cyber security advisories (siberguvenlik.gov.tr).

Add it to your regular patch cycle. Upgrade to code.gitea.io/gitea (Go) 1.26.3 or later.

Generated automatically from the record's data: CVSS (NVD and CNA), CISA KEV and SSVC, FIRST EPSS, exploit sources, fixed versions. How we calculate it

Primary sources: NVD · CVE.org · FIRST EPSS

Gitea Docker image versions up to and including 1.26.2 use REVERSE_PROXY_TRUSTED_PROXIES=* by default, allowing any source IP to impersonate a user when reverse-proxy authentication headers such as X-WEBAUTH-USER are enabled.

CriticalCVSS 9.8 · v3.1—Proof of concept Fix available
Published
Jul 3, 2026
Updated
Oct 25, 2026
EPSS
2.7% · 86th percentile

Report tools

JSON

Action score

40

Plan

Add it to your regular patch cycle.

CVSS
39 / 40 · 9.8 / 10
CISA KEV
0 / 30 · Not listed
EPSS
1 / 30 · 2.7%

CISA SSVC decision

Exploitation
proof of concept
Automatable
yes
Technical impact
total

Vulnrichment: CISA's decision-tree inputs.

CNA vs NVD score

NVD
—
CNA · Gitea
9.8
NVD has not scored this yet; the score shown is the CNA’s.

The score given by the assigning authority versus NVD’s independent score. A gap means the severity is contested.

Get told when this record changes

  • Not in KEV: no record of exploitation in the wild
  • Proof of concept exists, no weaponized module
  • A fix has been released

If any of these changes, we'll tell you in the daily email digest.

Follow CVE-2026-20896

When you'll hear from us

  • when it enters CISA KEV
  • when exploit code appears or is weaponized
  • when the record is updated (including a fixed version)
  • when EPSS rises 20 points in a week

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Noroxi analysis

What does it mean in your environment?

The assessment above is generated automatically from the record's data; it doesn't know your environment. Our team verifies on your systems whether this vulnerability is actually exploitable and which mitigation is enough.

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Affected systems

Is your version affected?

Pick the product and type the version you run. It's compared with this record's version ranges in your browser; the version isn't sent anywhere.

—

Versions reported by the vendor

Affected version ranges reported by the assigning authority (Gitea). Independent of NVD's CPE analysis and usually ahead of it.

  • Gitea Gitea Open Source Git Server

    • up to and including 1.26.2affected · semver

Package-level exposure

OSV and GitHub Advisory data: ecosystem, package and range. SBOM matching uses this table.

EcosystemPackageAffected rangeFix
Gocode.gitea.io/giteabefore 1.26.31.26.3

Same product

gitea: all records

Other highest-scoring records for the same primary product.

  • CVE-2024-6886Inproper Sanitation of field leading to stored XSS
    50Plan
  • CVE-2026-56654Privilege Escalation via Access Token Scope Escalation in API
    39Monitor
  • CVE-2026-58422Improper authorization on OAuth sign-in callback silently re-enables administrator-disabled accounts
    39Monitor

Published before and after this one in the same product

  • ← EarlierCVE-2026-20706Jul 3, 2026 · Gitea repository archive downloads bypass token scope checks
    36Monitor
  • ← EarlierCVE-2026-20779Jul 3, 2026 · Gitea TOTP single-use enforcement defect allows OTP replay
    28Monitor
  • Later →CVE-2026-20909Jul 3, 2026 · Gitea tracked-time list endpoint has insufficient permission checks
    21Monitor

Remediation

Which version to upgrade to

Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.

Product / packageFixed versionSource
Go:code.gitea.io/gitea1.26.3Package registry (OSV)

Exploit status

Proof of concept available

A public proof of concept or detection signature exists. Exploit knowledge is out there; don't delay patching.

Evidence

  • Nuclei detection template ×1
  • Proof-of-concept repository on GitHub ×8

Noroxi does not host or link to exploit code. Metasploit module names and Nuclei template ids are shown (names, not code); Exploit-DB entries and PoC repositories are given as counts only.

Public exploit evidence
SourceKindDate
Nuclei detection templateNuclei template CVE-2026-20896 —
Proof-of-concept repository on GitHubstars:12026-07-02
Proof-of-concept repository on GitHubstars:62026-07-05
Proof-of-concept repository on GitHubstars:102026-07-07
Proof-of-concept repository on GitHubstars:62026-07-16
Proof-of-concept repository on GitHubstars:12026-07-29
Proof-of-concept repository on GitHubstars:12026-08-15
Proof-of-concept repository on GitHubstars:12026-08-21
Proof-of-concept repository on GitHubstars:02026-10-15

Research context

For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.

Timeline

From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.

  1. First PoC-2 d
  2. Published
  3. TodayNov 4, 2026+124 d
EPSS, last 120 days

FIRST EPSS daily score; only changes of 0.01 or more are recorded (step chart).

Patch and commit links

Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.

Credits

All researchers

Finders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.

Variant candidates

Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.

  • CVE-2026-262920 days apartGitea LFS mirror synchronization bypasses migration HTTP transport restrictions
    39Monitor
  • CVE-2026-584220 days apartImproper authorization on OAuth sign-in callback silently re-enables administrator-disabled accounts
    39Monitor
  • CVE-2026-5665441 days apartPrivilege Escalation via Access Token Scope Escalation in API
    39Monitor
  • CVE-2026-207060 days apartGitea repository archive downloads bypass token scope checks
    36Monitor
  • CVE-2026-262470 days apartGitea OAuth2 PKCE S256 challenges are not enforced during token exchange
    36Monitor
  • CVE-2026-5850841 days apartTwo SSRF vulnerabilities in Gitea migration/mirror (DNS rebinding + missing re-validation)
    36Monitor

Chain candidates

An authentication bypass and a privilege-requiring bug in the same product, published close together: combined they may become an unauthenticated path.

—

Bug bounty scope

No known public program.

Source: bounty-targets-data (public HackerOne, Bugcrowd, Intigriti, YesWeHack listings).

National notice (Türkiye Cybersecurity Directorate / USOM)

Official security notices citing this record; remediation advice is on the agency's page.

All national notices →

Technical details

Attack conditions

  • Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it.
  • No account or password is required.
  • No user action is required.
  • No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.

If successful

Confidentiality
high · data can be read
Integrity
high · data or configuration can be modified
Availability
high · the service can be disrupted
Attack vector
Network
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality impact
High
Integrity impact
High
Availability impact
High

Weakness class (CWE)

CWE-284 · Improper Access Control

CVSS vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

nvd-secondary

Attack context

MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.

Change log

  1. Fix✗ → ✓

For records you follow, these changes also arrive as notifications. →

References

Show all references (3 more)

Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.

All records