CVE-2026-116289
Gitea public-only token bypass through Actions runner registration
Description
Gitea did not reject personal access tokens restricted to public resources (`public-only`) on the organization Actions runner registration-token endpoint, and the runner registered with the resulting token was not limited to public repositories. Holding only such a token with `write:organization` that belongs to an owner of a public organization, an attacker could register an organization-level runner and receive jobs of the organization's private repositories that have Actions enabled, including the workflow content, Actions secrets and variables, and a task token with access to the private repository. The issue widens what the restricted token can reach; it gives nothing beyond what the owner's full account can already do.
INFO
Published Date :
Nov. 1, 2026, 10:18 a.m.
Last Modified :
Nov. 1, 2026, 10:18 a.m.
Remotely Exploit :
No
Source :
88ee5874-cf24-4952-aea0-31affedb7ff2
Affected Products
The following products are affected by CVE-2026-116289
vulnerability.
Even if cvefeed.io is aware of the exact versions of the
products
that
are
affected, the information is not represented in the table below.
No affected product recoded yet
Solution
- Update Gitea to the latest version.
- Review and rotate affected access tokens.
- Restrict token permissions to least privilege.
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-2026-116289.
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration
While CVE identifies
specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or
weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2026-116289 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-2026-116289
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-2026-116289 vulnerability anywhere in the article.
The following table lists the changes that have been made to the
CVE-2026-116289 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
Nov. 01, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added Description Gitea did not reject personal access tokens restricted to public resources (`public-only`) on the organization Actions runner registration-token endpoint, and the runner registered with the resulting token was not limited to public repositories. Holding only such a token with `write:organization` that belongs to an owner of a public organization, an attacker could register an organization-level runner and receive jobs of the organization's private repositories that have Actions enabled, including the workflow content, Actions secrets and variables, and a task token with access to the private repository. The issue widens what the restricted token can reach; it gives nothing beyond what the owner's full account can already do. Added CWE CWE-863 Added Affected New affected value received. <a href="https://github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/blob/main/cves/2026/116xxx/CVE-2026-116289.json">CVE-2026-116289</a> Added Reference https://blog.gitea.com/release-of-28.3.0/ Added Reference https://github.com/go-gitea/gitea/pull/39690 Added Reference https://github.com/go-gitea/gitea/pull/39853 Added Reference https://github.com/go-gitea/gitea/releases/tag/v28.3.0 Added Reference https://github.com/go-gitea/gitea/security/advisories/GHSA-qcgm-ggp8-22qc