CVE-2026-103059
CRITICAL 9.1When 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.
Severe if exploited (CVSS 9.1), but no known exploitation and low modeled probability. Patch on a normal cadence.
Exploitation likelihood
0.3%chance of exploitation in 30 days · 18th percentile
Impact if exploited
9.1CVSS 3.1 · CRITICAL
- ConfidentialityHigh
- IntegrityHigh
- AvailabilityNone
What an attacker needs
- ✓Access: Reachable over the network — no local access needed
- ✓Privileges: No account or privileges required
- ✓User interaction: No user interaction needed
- ✓Complexity: No special conditions — reliably repeatable
✓ lowers the bar for an attacker · ⚠ raises it
Proof of concept & exploit code
- github-search Search GitHub for public PoC repos
Test against your own equipment
curl -s https://vulnpedia.com/cve/CVE-2026-103059/poc.jsonMachine-readable PoC index for this CVE (for automation).Listed for defensive triage, patch verification, and authorized testing on systems you own. Machine-readable: /cve/CVE-2026-103059/poc.json
Weakness (CWE)
- CWE-305: Authentication Bypass by Primary Weakness
CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N
Known Affected Software Configurations
| Vendor | Product | Version range |
|---|---|---|
| Gitea | Gitea | < 28.0.0 |
All CVSS metrics
- CRITICAL 9.1 v3.1 · ADP Primary
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N - CRITICAL 9.1 v3.1 · NVD Secondary
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N