# CVE-2026-79960: Gitea deploy key pushes acting as the repository owner

> Deploy key holders can bypass tag protections and change repository visibility by impersonating the repository owner during push operations.

- **Severity:** High 7.1 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:L/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:** Yes
- **Published:** 6 Oct 2026
- **Updated:** 7 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** BIT-gitea-2026-79960, GHSA-7769-9pr9-m24h, MINI-6vrp-8c3h-g2cr, MINI-92qv-w6pc-v7p8

## What is CVE-2026-79960?

CVE-2026-79960 is a high-severity vulnerability in Gitea Gitea, published on 6 Oct 2026. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

When a push was authenticated with a deploy key, Gitea recorded the repository owner as the pusher, so permission checks in the push hook pipeline evaluated the owner instead of the deploy key. A holder of a writable deploy key could create protected tags without being on the tag allow list and change repository visibility through push options, for example making a private repository public. Pull requests created through the AGit flow with a deploy key were also attributed to the owner.

Weakness: CWE-863 (Incorrect Authorization)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-79960?

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-2026-79960?

Upgrade gitea to 28.0.0 or later.

## Is CVE-2026-79960 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-79960 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-2026-79960 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-79960 is a high-severity vulnerability in Gitea Gitea, published on 6 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-2026-79960 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-2026-79960/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-79960/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-79960
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-79960
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-79960

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-79960/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.