CVE-2026-103059
Gitea built-in SSH server authentication bypass through key case folding
Description
When Gitea's built-in SSH server is enabled (`START_SSH_SERVER = true`), the presented public key was looked up with an SQL `LIKE` comparison of its encoded content, which is case-insensitive on some databases, including the default SQLite. An attacker who can construct a case variant of another user's registered RSA public key for which they can derive the private key could have that key matched to the victim's account and authenticate over SSH as that user. Keys are now looked up by fingerprint.
INFO
Published Date :
Oct. 6, 2026, 8:17 p.m.
Last Modified :
Oct. 6, 2026, 8:17 p.m.
Remotely Exploit :
No
Source :
88ee5874-cf24-4952-aea0-31affedb7ff2
Solution
- Update Gitea to the latest version.
- Review and secure SSH server configuration.
- Disable SSH server if not actively needed.
References to Advisories, Solutions, and Tools
Here, you will find a curated list of external links that provide in-depth
information, practical solutions, and valuable tools related to
CVE-2026-103059.
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration
While CVE identifies
specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or
weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2026-103059 is
associated with the following CWEs:
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification
(CAPEC)
stores attack patterns, which are descriptions of the common attributes and
approaches employed by adversaries to exploit the CVE-2026-103059
weaknesses.
We scan GitHub repositories to detect new proof-of-concept exploits. Following list is a collection of public exploits and proof-of-concepts, which have been published on GitHub (sorted by the most recently updated).
Results are limited to the first 15 repositories due to potential performance issues.
The following list is the news that have been mention
CVE-2026-103059 vulnerability anywhere in the article.
The following table lists the changes that have been made to the
CVE-2026-103059 vulnerability over time.
Vulnerability history details can be useful for understanding the evolution of a vulnerability, and for identifying the most recent changes that may impact the vulnerability's severity, exploitability, or other characteristics.
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New CVE Received by 88ee5874-cf24-4952-aea0-31affedb7ff2
Oct. 06, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added Description When Gitea's built-in SSH server is enabled (`START_SSH_SERVER = true`), the presented public key was looked up with an SQL `LIKE` comparison of its encoded content, which is case-insensitive on some databases, including the default SQLite. An attacker who can construct a case variant of another user's registered RSA public key for which they can derive the private key could have that key matched to the victim's account and authenticate over SSH as that user. Keys are now looked up by fingerprint. Added Affected New affected value received. <a href="https://github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/blob/main/cves/2026/103xxx/CVE-2026-103059.json">CVE-2026-103059</a> Added Reference https://blog.gitea.com/release-of-28.0.0/ Added Reference https://github.com/go-gitea/gitea/pull/39423 Added Reference https://github.com/go-gitea/gitea/releases/tag/v28.0.0 Added Reference https://github.com/go-gitea/gitea/security/advisories/GHSA-8pwg-hcgm-54cp