CVE-2026-61833 zot: Bearer authentication maps DELETE to push scope, allowing unauthorized deletion
Attackers with pull/push tokens can delete manifests and blobs due to incorrect scope mapping, causing data loss and service disruption.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Any signed-in user
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2026-61833?
CVE-2026-61833 is a high-severity missing authorization vulnerability in project-zot zot, published on 18 Sep 2026. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Official description
zot is a container image and artifact registry based on the Open Container Initiative Distribution Specification. Prior to 2.1.18, the bearer authentication handler in pkg/api/authn.go maps every HTTP method other than GET and HEAD to the push action, so DELETE requests are not checked for the distinct delete permission. Bearer-authenticated requests also bypass the fine-grained DistSpecAuthzHandler path in pkg/api/authz.go, while DeleteManifest and DeleteBlob perform no independent delete-permission check. A remote attacker with a bearer token limited to pull and push actions can therefore delete manifests and blobs within the token's repository scope, making images unavailable and allowing repository history to be altered despite the token lacking delete authorization. This issue is fixed in version 2.1.18.
Weakness: CWE-285
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-61833?
4 open source packages ship an affected version, including zotregistry.dev/zot/v2 and zotregistry.dev/zot.
| Package | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
zotregistry.dev/zot/v2 Go | All versions | 2.1.18 |
zotregistry.dev/zot/v2 Go | All versions | 2.1.18 |
zotregistry.dev/zot/v2 Go | All versions | 2.1.18 |
zotregistry.dev/zot Go | All versions | None |
How do I fix CVE-2026-61833?
Upgrade zotregistry.dev/zot/v2 to 2.1.18 or later.
Upgrade, and check permissions on every request on the server, not only in the interface. More about Missing authorization.
Is CVE-2026-61833 being exploited?
It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2026-61833 exists.
Sources
Also known as GHSA-qg67-7m6v-qg25, GO-2026-6527, MINI-24rp-p87c-g986, MINI-hjcm-p955-xp3v.