Gitea installer authentication bypass for existing accounts
Summary
| CVE | CVE-2026-96404 |
|---|---|
| State | PUBLISHED |
| Assigner | Gitea |
| Source Priority | CVE Program / NVD first with legacy fallback |
| Published | 2026-10-06 20:17:35 UTC |
| Updated | 2026-10-13 15:36:13 UTC |
| Description | When Gitea's web installer is reachable against a database that already contains users, such as after `INSTALL_LOCK` has been reset to `false`, submitting the install form with an administrator username matching an existing account issued an authenticated session for that account without verifying its password. If the account is an administrator, the session grants full administrative access, including changing the account's password. Databases with a single user also did not require the reinstall confirmation. |
Risk And Classification
Primary CVSS: v3.1 8.1 HIGH from ADP
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS: 0.001560000 probability, percentile 0.041830000 (date 2026-10-07)
Problem Types: CWE-287 | CWE-287 CWE-287 Improper Authentication
| Version | Source | Type | Score | Severity | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.1 | ADP | DECLARED | 8.1 | HIGH | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |
| 3.1 | 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0 | Secondary | 8.1 | HIGH | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |
CVSS v3.1 Breakdown
Attack Vector
NetworkAttack Complexity
HighPrivileges Required
NoneUser Interaction
NoneScope
UnchangedConfidentiality
HighIntegrity
HighAvailability
HighCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
NVD Known Affected Configurations (CPE 2.3)
Vendor Declared Affected Products
References
| Reference | Source | Link | Tags |
|---|---|---|---|
| github.com/go-gitea/gitea/releases/tag/v28.0.0 | 88ee5874-cf24-4952-aea0-31affedb7ff2 | github.com | Release Notes |
| github.com/go-gitea/gitea/pull/39400 | 88ee5874-cf24-4952-aea0-31affedb7ff2 | github.com | Patch |
| blog.gitea.com/release-of-28.0.0 | 88ee5874-cf24-4952-aea0-31affedb7ff2 | blog.gitea.com | Release Notes |
| github.com/go-gitea/gitea/security/advisories/GHSA-9h7g-h754-c8x2 | 88ee5874-cf24-4952-aea0-31affedb7ff2 | github.com | Exploit, Mitigation, Vendor Advisory |
| CVE Program record | CVE.ORG | www.cve.org | canonical |
| NVD vulnerability detail | NVD | nvd.nist.gov | canonical, analysis |
Vendor Comments And Credit
Discovery Credit
CNA: https://github.com/vuductruong12 (en)
CNA: https://github.com/lilmingwa13 (en)
CNA: https://github.com/wxiaoguang (en)
There are currently no legacy QID mappings associated with this CVE.