# CVE-2020-28991: Improper Access Control in Gitea

> Attackers can bypass git protocol restrictions by injecting newlines into URLs, potentially accessing internal network resources.

- **Severity:** Critical 9.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 24 Nov 2020
- **Updated:** 4 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** BIT-gitea-2020-28991, GHSA-r7h7-chh4-5rvm

## What is CVE-2020-28991?

CVE-2020-28991 is a critical server-side request forgery vulnerability in Gitea Gitea, published on 24 Nov 2020. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Gitea 0.9.99 through 1.12.x before 1.12.6 does not prevent a git protocol path that specifies a TCP port number and also contains newlines (with URL encoding) in ParseRemoteAddr in modules/auth/repo_form.go.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2020-28991?

3 open source packages ship an affected version, including github.com/go-gitea/gitea and gitea. It affects 1 product.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `github.com/go-gitea/gitea` | Go | From 0.9.99 | 1.12.6 |
| `github.com/go-gitea/gitea` | Go | From 0.9.99 | 1.12.6 |
| `gitea` | Bitnami | From 0.9.99 | 1.12.6 |

Products: Gitea Gitea.

## How do I fix CVE-2020-28991?

Upgrade github.com/go-gitea/gitea to 1.12.6 or later.

## Is CVE-2020-28991 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-28991 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Gitea Gitea

- [CVE-2026-60004](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-60004/): Gitea Code Injection (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-73278](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-73278/): Gitea WebAuthn bypass during OAuth and OIDC sign-in (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2026-94205](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-94205/): Gitea fork workflow approval bypass through maintainer-triggered events (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2022-42968](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-42968/): Gitea vulnerable to Argument Injection (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2021-45330](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-45330/): Improper Privilege Management in Gitea (critical 9.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2020-28991 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2020-28991 is a critical server-side request forgery vulnerability in Gitea Gitea, published on 24 Nov 2020. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-28991 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected packages and fixed versions:
- github.com/go-gitea/gitea (Go): affected from 0.9.99; fixed in 1.12.6
- github.com/go-gitea/gitea (Go): affected from 0.9.99; fixed in 1.12.6
- gitea (Bitnami): affected from 0.9.99; fixed in 1.12.6

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-28991/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-28991/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-28991
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-28991
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2020-28991

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-28991/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.