CVE-2026-116474
Gitea Actions job token spoofing of instance-signed commits
The GITEA_TOKEN of a Gitea Actions job authenticates as the gitea-actions system user, and the /api/v1/user email and GPG key endpoints accepted that user, so a job could register an email address and a GPG key on it; without required email confirmation (the default) the address is stored as activated. Commit verification treats a key without a real owner as the instance signing key, so any user who can run a workflow job could make commits signed with their own key show as trusted and signed by the instance in every repository where they appear, including pull requests to repositories the user cannot write to. The impact is limited to the displayed signature status: enforcement such as required signed commits only checks that a signature is verified and is unaffected, and no access is gained. The /api/v1/user routes now reject system users.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges needed
- Low
- User interaction
- None
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- None
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
CVE List Score used
6.5
Gitea Actions job token spoofing of instance-signed commits
The GITEA_TOKEN of a Gitea Actions job authenticates as the gitea-actions system user, and the /api/v1/user email and GPG key endpoints accepted that user, so a job could register an email address and a GPG key on it; without required email confirmation (the default) the address is stored as activated. Commit verification treats a key without a real owner as the instance signing key, so any user who can run a workflow job could make commits signed with their own key show as trusted and signed by the instance in every repository where they appear, including pull requests to repositories the user cannot write to. The impact is limited to the displayed signature status: enforcement such as required signed commits only checks that a signature is verified and is unaffected, and no access is gained. The /api/v1/user routes now reject system users.
- Record
CVE-2026-116474- CVSS 3.1
- 6.5 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-347
- Updated
- 2026-11-06
EUVDEUVD-2026-114796
6.5
The GITEA_TOKEN of a Gitea Actions job authenticates as the gitea-actions system user, and the /api/v1/user email and GPG key endpoints accepted that user, so a job could register an email address and a GPG key on it; without required email confirmation (the default) the address is stored as activated. Commit verification treats a key without a real owner as the instance signing key, so any user who can run a workflow job could make commits signed with their own key show as trusted and signed by the instance in every repository where they appear, including pull requests to repositories the user cannot write to. The impact is limited to the displayed signature status: enforcement such as required signed commits only checks that a signature is verified and is unaffected, and no access is gained. The /api/v1/user routes now reject system users.
- Record
EUVD-2026-114796- CVSS 3.1
- 6.5 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N - Updated
- 2026-11-06
NVD
6.5
The GITEA_TOKEN of a Gitea Actions job authenticates as the gitea-actions system user, and the /api/v1/user email and GPG key endpoints accepted that user, so a job could register an email address and a GPG key on it; without required email confirmation (the default) the address is stored as activated. Commit verification treats a key without a real owner as the instance signing key, so any user who can run a workflow job could make commits signed with their own key show as trusted and signed by the instance in every repository where they appear, including pull requests to repositories the user cannot write to. The impact is limited to the displayed signature status: enforcement such as required signed commits only checks that a signature is verified and is unaffected, and no access is gained. The /api/v1/user routes now reject system users.
- Record
CVE-2026-116474- CVSS 3.1
- 6.5 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-347
- Updated
- 2026-11-06
OSV
6.5
Gitea Actions job token spoofing of instance-signed commits
The GITEA_TOKEN of a Gitea Actions job authenticates as the gitea-actions system user, and the /api/v1/user email and GPG key endpoints accepted that user, so a job could register an email address and a GPG key on it; without required email confirmation (the default) the address is stored as activated. Commit verification treats a key without a real owner as the instance signing key, so any user who can run a workflow job could make commits signed with their own key show as trusted and signed by the instance in every repository where they appear, including pull requests to repositories the user cannot write to. The impact is limited to the displayed signature status: enforcement such as required signed commits only checks that a signature is verified and is unaffected, and no access is gained. The /api/v1/user routes now reject system users.
- Record
CVE-2026-116474- CVSS 3.1
- 6.5 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-347
- Updated
- 2026-11-07
Affected products
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| severity | CVE List | |
| facts, severity | EUVD, OSV | |
| first indexed | CVE List, EUVD, NVD, OSV |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2026-116474 is a medium vulnerability (CVSS 6.5) in Gitea, published November 1, 2026. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 0.17%, the 5th percentile. No source names a fixed version.
References
github.com/go-gitea/gitea/security/advisories/GHSA-mf6p-vqpw-3r7x
github.com/go-gitea/gitea/pull/39945
github.com/go-gitea/gitea/pull/40115
blog.gitea.com/release-of-28.3.0
github.com/go-gitea/gitea/releases/tag/v28.3.0
github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/tree/main/cves/2026/116xxx/CVE-2026-116474.json
nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-116474