---
title: "CVE-2026-103059: Gitea - Authentication Bypass"
description: "Gitea contains a broken authentication caused by case-insensitive SQL LIKE comparison of SSH public keys, letting attackers with derived private keys authenticate as other users, exploit requires SSH server enabled."
url: https://panop.io/threat-heartbeat/CVE-2026-103059/
---

# CVE-2026-103059 Gitea - Authentication Bypass

Gitea contains a broken authentication caused by case-insensitive SQL LIKE comparison of SSH public keys, letting attackers with derived private keys authenticate as other users, exploit requires SSH server enabled.

CVSS base score 9.1 /10

Critical

CISA KEV

Not listed

Public exploit

None known

EPSS

0.28% chance of exploitation in 30 days

[View the NVD record ↗](https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-103059)

## Details

Type

Authentication Bypass

Impact

Broken Authentication

CVSS vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N

Published

6 October 2026

Updated

15 October 2026

Weakness

[CWE-305](https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/305.html)

## Vendor fix

Update to a version where keys are looked up by fingerprint instead of case-insensitive LIKE comparison.

Patching closes this CVE. It does not tell you which of your systems run the affected version, or what else is exposed alongside them.

## References

- [https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-103059](https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-103059)
- [https://blog.gitea.com/release-of-28.0.0/](https://blog.gitea.com/release-of-28.0.0/)
- [https://github.com/go-gitea/gitea/pull/39423](https://github.com/go-gitea/gitea/pull/39423)
- [https://github.com/go-gitea/gitea/releases/tag/v28.0.0](https://github.com/go-gitea/gitea/releases/tag/v28.0.0)
- [https://github.com/go-gitea/gitea/security/advisories/GHSA-8pwg-hcgm-54cp](https://github.com/go-gitea/gitea/security/advisories/GHSA-8pwg-hcgm-54cp)

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## What this record can't tell you

- Whether you run the affected software, and where
- Whether an attacker can actually reach and exploit it
- The misconfigurations that never get a CVE number
- What it would cost the business, ranked into what to fix first

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