# CVE-2026-103059: Gitea built-in SSH server authentication bypass through key case folding

> Attackers can bypass SSH authentication in Gitea by exploiting case-insensitive key lookups, allowing them to log in as other users.

- **Severity:** Critical 9.1 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 6 Oct 2026
- **Updated:** 7 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** BIT-gitea-2026-103059, GHSA-8pwg-hcgm-54cp, MINI-fffj-jxj3-r2xf, MINI-w3j4-qm32-6qv7

## What is CVE-2026-103059?

CVE-2026-103059 is a critical authentication bypass vulnerability in Gitea Gitea, published on 6 Oct 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official 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.

Weakness: CWE-305 (Authentication Bypass by Primary Weakness)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-103059?

1 open source package ship an affected version, including gitea. It affects 1 product.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `gitea` | Bitnami | All versions | 28.0.0 |

Products: Gitea Gitea.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-103059?

Upgrade gitea to 28.0.0 or later.

## Is CVE-2026-103059 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-103059 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-2026-103059 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-103059 is a critical authentication bypass vulnerability in Gitea Gitea, published on 6 Oct 2026. 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-2026-103059 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected packages and fixed versions:
- gitea (Bitnami): affected all versions; fixed in 28.0.0

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-2026-103059/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-103059/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-103059
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-103059
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-103059

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-103059/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.