CVE-2024-6886 — gitea
Fix: go-gitea/gitea#31200CVE-2024-6886 is a Cross-site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in code.gitea.io/gitea. EPSS puts its 30-day exploitation probability at 33.0% (98th percentile). A fix is available for code.gitea.io/gitea — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Inproper Sanitation of field leading to stored XSS
Exploitation Status
No confirmed exploitation observed yet
- CISA assesses this as automatable — exploitation doesn’t require manual, per-target effort, which raises the odds of mass scanning and opportunistic attacks.
- A successful exploit gives an attacker total control of the affected component, not partial access.
- CISA’s own triage has not observed active exploitation or public proof-of-concept code for this CVE as of its last assessment.
Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for CVE-2024-6886.
EPSS Exploitation Probability
Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.
Real-World Exposure
code.gitea.io/giteaReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects Go packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation (XSS or 'Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in Gitea Gitea Open Source Git Server allows Stored XSS.This issue affects Gitea Open Source Git Server: 1.22.0.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐹Go | code.gitea.io/gitea | all versions | 1.22.1go get code.gitea.io/gitea@v1.22.1 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for code.gitea.io/gitea, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update code.gitea.io/gitea to 1.22.1 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2024-6886 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
Escape or sanitise the affected output on the server side rather than relying on client-side filtering, and add a Content-Security-Policy that blocks inline script execution so injected markup cannot run even if it reaches the page.
How to detect CVE-2024-6886
A community-maintained Nuclei template exists for this CVE. You can scan for it directly:
nuclei -id cve-2024-6886 -u https://target- Template
- Gitea 1.22.0 - Cross-Site Scripting
- Severity
- medium
- Impact
- Authenticated attackers can inject malicious JavaScript into repository descriptions that executes in the context of other users' sessions when they view the repository.
- Remediation
- Update Gitea to version 1.22.1 or later to address the stored XSS vulnerability.
Template by ProjectDiscovery nuclei-templates (soonghee2), MIT licensed. View the full template. Scan only systems you are authorised to test.
Fixing This On Your OS
If you run this on a Linux distribution, patch through your package manager against the distro's own security advisory below — it tracks the exact backported fix for your release, which can ship on a different timeline (and sometimes a different severity) than the upstream project.
This vulnerability is specific to the Gitea server application, which is not shipped or used by any Red Hat products. While some components may use the Gitea Go SDK, the SDK is a client library and is not impacted by this server-side vulnerability.
Red Hat has investigated whether a possible mitigation exists for this issue, and has not been able to identify a practical example. Please update the affected package as soon as possible.Source: Red Hat security advisory for CVE-2024-6886 (CC BY 4.0)
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2024-6886 in your dependencies?
Find it across Go, including transitive dependencies.