CVE-2026-20706: Gitea Token Scope Bypass On Web Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-cr4g-f395-h25h
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CWE-863
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2026-20706 is a MODERATE token scope bypass on web vulnerability (CWE-863: Incorrect Authorization) affecting Gitea libraries in the Go ecosystem. The issue involves token scope bypass on web archive download endpoint. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 1.26.2.

CVE-2026-20706 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2026-20706
GHSA Identifier GHSA-cr4g-f395-h25h
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score N/A
CWE Classification CWE-863: Incorrect Authorization
Affected Product Gitea
Package Ecosystem Go
Published Date
Last Updated

How to Fix CVE-2026-20706

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Gitea dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

code.gitea.io/gitea fixed: 1.26.2 
Upgrade code.gitea.io/gitea to 1.26.2
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release: 

inspect dependencies for code.gitea.io/gitea

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your application is affected by CVE-2026-20706, inspect your project dependencies for Gitea:

inspect dependencies for code.gitea.io/gitea

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Gitea in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 1.26.2), your application is affected.

Note: Verify declared build manifests and deployed runtime container environments.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-863: Incorrect Authorization, where the product performs an authorization check when an actor attempts to access a resource or perform an action, but it does not correctly perform the check. In Gitea, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.

Source Advisory Statement

## Summary PR #37698 added checkDownloadTokenScope to /raw/*, /media/*, and attachment download web endpoints. The /archive/* endpoint (repo.Download in routers/web/repo/repo.go:372) was not included in the fix. This endpoint accepts OAuth2 tokens via webAuth.AllowOAuth2 (registered at routers/web/web.go:1649-1652) but does not call checkDownloadTokenScope or CheckRepoScopedToken. A personal access token with any non-repository scope (e.g., read:issue or read:misc) can download full repository archives (zip/tar.gz) of private repositories the token owner has access to. ## Impact Scope escalation: tokens scoped to non-repository categories can access full repository content through the archive download endpoint. Higher impact than endpoints fixed in #37698 because /archive/* serves the entire repository. ## Steps to Reproduce 1. Create a personal access token with ONLY read:misc scope 2. Access: GET /{owner}/{private-repo}/archive/main.tar.gz 3. Archive is served (200 OK) instead of being rejected (403 Forbidden) Compare with fixed endpoints: - GET /{owner}/{private-repo}/raw/branch/main/README.md correctly returns 403 ## Root Cause Download function in routers/web/repo/repo.go:372 does not call checkDownloadTokenScope. The outer group middleware reqUnitCodeReader checks repository permission but not token scope. The API equivalent (/api/v1/repos/{owner}/{repo}/archive/*) IS properly scoped via tokenRequiresScopes(AccessTokenScopeCategoryRepository). The git HTTP endpoints are scoped via CheckRepoScopedToken in httpBase. ## Suggested Fix Add checkDownloadTokenScope(ctx) to Download and InitiateDownload in routers/web/repo/repo.go. The function already exists in routers/web/repo/download.go (same package). ## Discovery Method Variant analysis of PR #37698 — reviewed all web routes with webAuth.AllowOAuth2 middleware.

CVE-2026-20706 Affected Gitea Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
1.26.2
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
code.gitea.io/gitea
golang/code.gitea.io/gitea
Go
< 1.26.2
1.26.2

References

GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY
https://github.com/go-gitea/gitea/security/advisories/GHSA-cr4g-f395-h25h
Gitea Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/go-gitea/gitea

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-20706?
CVE-2026-20706 is a security vulnerability in Gitea involving Token scope bypass on web archive download endpoint under CWE-863: Incorrect Authorization.
Which Gitea versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 1.26.2 across affected packages: code.gitea.io/gitea.
What version fixes CVE-2026-20706?
Upgrading to 1.26.2 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is code.gitea.io/gitea affected?
Yes, code.gitea.io/gitea is affected in releases prior to 1.26.2. Upgrade your dependency to 1.26.2 or later.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2026-20706?
CVE-2026-20706 is classified under CWE-863: Incorrect Authorization (The product performs an authorization check when an actor attempts to access a resource or perform an action, but it does not correctly perform the check.).
How can I check Go dependencies for CVE-2026-20706?
Run the dependency tree command: 'inspect dependencies for code.gitea.io/gitea'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
View Raw JSON 
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-cr4g-f395-h25h",
  "modified" : "2026-06-16T23:42:04Z",
  "published" : "2026-06-16T23:42:04Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2026-20706" ],
  "summary" : "Gitea: Token scope bypass on web archive download endpoint",
  "details" : "## Summary\n\nPR #37698 added checkDownloadTokenScope to /raw/*, /media/*, and attachment download web endpoints. The /archive/* endpoint (repo.Download in routers/web/repo/repo.go:372) was not included in the fix. This endpoint accepts OAuth2 tokens via webAuth.AllowOAuth2 (registered at routers/web/web.go:1649-1652) but does not call checkDownloadTokenScope or CheckRepoScopedToken.\n\nA personal access token with any non-repository scope (e.g., read:issue or read:misc) can download full repository archives (zip/tar.gz) of private repositories the token owner has access to.\n\n## Impact\n\nScope escalation: tokens scoped to non-repository categories can access full repository content through the archive download endpoint. Higher impact than endpoints fixed in #37698 because /archive/* serves the entire repository.\n\n## Steps to Reproduce\n\n1. Create a personal access token with ONLY read:misc scope\n2. Access: GET /{owner}/{private-repo}/archive/main.tar.gz\n3. Archive is served (200 OK) instead of being rejected (403 Forbidden)\n\nCompare with fixed endpoints:\n- GET /{owner}/{private-repo}/raw/branch/main/README.md correctly returns 403\n\n## Root Cause\n\nDownload function in routers/web/repo/repo.go:372 does not call checkDownloadTokenScope. The outer group middleware reqUnitCodeReader checks repository permission but not token scope.\n\nThe API equivalent (/api/v1/repos/{owner}/{repo}/archive/*) IS properly scoped via tokenRequiresScopes(AccessTokenScopeCategoryRepository). The git HTTP endpoints are scoped via CheckRepoScopedToken in httpBase.\n\n## Suggested Fix\n\nAdd checkDownloadTokenScope(ctx) to Download and InitiateDownload in routers/web/repo/repo.go. The function already exists in routers/web/repo/download.go (same package).\n\n## Discovery Method\n\nVariant analysis of PR #37698 — reviewed all web routes with webAuth.AllowOAuth2 middleware.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V4",
    "score" : "CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:L/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Go",
      "name" : "code.gitea.io/gitea"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "1.26.2"
      } ]
    } ],
    "database_specific" : {
      "last_known_affected_version_range" : "<= 1.26.1"
    }
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/go-gitea/gitea/security/advisories/GHSA-cr4g-f395-h25h"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/go-gitea/gitea"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-863" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2026-06-16T23:42:04Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : null
  }
}