High 8.1Published Oct 6, 2026

CVE-2026-96404Gitea installer authentication bypass for existing accounts

Updated under an hour ago (2026-10-19 10:10 UTC)

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It affects Gitea. Add what you run to find out whether that includes you.

EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 0.44%, higher than 37% of scored CVEs.

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Every CVE for Gitea

Exploited in the last 30 days

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.

CVSS: 8.1 HIGH (v3.1, CISA ADP)CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Weakness (CWE): CWE-287
Known exploited: Not in CISA's KEV catalog
EPSS (exploitation in the next 30 days): 0.44% (percentile 37)
Assigned by: Gitea
NVD analysis: Analyzed
Record last updated: Oct 7, 2026
First seen by InfoSec Signals: Oct 9, 2026

Affected products

Affected products

Gitea Gitea gitea:gitea (from the name)	through 1.27.3	CNA record
gitea gitea gitea:gitea	before 28.0.0	NVD

References

https://github.com/go-gitea/gitea/security/advisories/GHSA-9h7g-h754-c8x2vendor-advisory, exploit, mitigation
https://github.com/go-gitea/gitea/pull/39400patch
https://blog.gitea.com/release-of-28.0.0/release-notes
https://github.com/go-gitea/gitea/releases/tag/v28.0.0release-notes

The CVE record on cve.org NVD's entry

The CVE record is authoritative. Products marked “from the name” were identified from the CNA's free-text names, not a CPE, and are matched less certainly. This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD.