# CVE-2026-70406: Gitea private comparison disclosure with public-only tokens

> Attackers with public-only tokens can access private repository commit history and diffs by exploiting missing authorization checks in comparison helpers.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 14 Oct 2026
- **Updated:** 14 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-m78w-jjjx-gp8r

## What is CVE-2026-70406?

CVE-2026-70406 is a medium-severity missing authorization vulnerability in Gitea, published on 14 Oct 2026. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Gitea's shared comparison helper omits the token repository-access check used when updating pull requests. A public-only token with read:repository scope can route a comparison or pull request creation through a public base repository and retrieve commit history and diffs from a private head repository accessible to the token owner. This bypasses the token's public-only restriction; it does not remove the account's underlying repository permission checks.

Weakness: CWE-863 (Incorrect Authorization)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-70406?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-70406?

No fix has been published for CVE-2026-70406 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2026-70406 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-70406 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-70406 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-70406 is a medium-severity missing authorization vulnerability in Gitea, published on 14 Oct 2026. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-70406 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Gitea. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

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-2026-70406/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-70406/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-70406
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-70406
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-70406

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-70406/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.