# CVE-2026-97208: Gitea push mirror API bypass of DISABLE_NEW_PUSH policy

> Repository admins bypass site-wide push mirror restrictions via API, potentially exfiltrating code to unauthorized remotes.

- **Severity:** Medium 4.9 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** An administrator
- **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-2026-97208, GHSA-8hhh-mqpg-jpxc, MINI-mcg5-h772-2mr6, MINI-qxvq-m8f7-mxv7

## What is CVE-2026-97208?

CVE-2026-97208 is a medium-severity missing authorization vulnerability in Gitea Gitea, published on 6 Oct 2026. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The Gitea API endpoint for creating push mirrors (`POST /api/v1/repos/{owner}/{repo}/push_mirrors`) checked only whether mirroring was enabled and not the `[mirror] DISABLE_NEW_PUSH` setting that the web interface enforces. A repository administrator could therefore create new push mirrors on instances where the site administrator had disabled them. A push mirror pushes all refs of the repository to a remote chosen by the caller, on each commit or on a schedule.

Weakness: CWE-863 (Incorrect Authorization)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-97208?

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


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `gitea` | Bitnami | All versions | 28.1.0 |

Products: Gitea Gitea.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-97208?

Upgrade gitea to 28.1.0 or later.

## Is CVE-2026-97208 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-97208 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-2026-97208 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-97208 is a medium-severity missing authorization vulnerability in Gitea Gitea, published on 6 Oct 2026. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-97208 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected packages and fixed versions:
- gitea (Bitnami): affected all versions; fixed in 28.1.0

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-2026-97208/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-97208/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-97208
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-97208
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-97208

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-97208/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.