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Link Following (Symlink)Weakness · CWE-59

CVE-2026-25718

CRITICAL · 9.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-07-03
Patch available
A vendor patch is available. No clean upgrade release — apply the published patch.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click Patch available 7 weeks old

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
Gitea versions before 1.25.5 mishandle path resolution during template repository generation, allowing template processing to read or write through symlinked or otherwise non-regular paths.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

Gitea before 1.25.5 contains a path traversal vulnerability in its template repository generation feature. The template processing logic fails to properly validate or resolve symlinks and non-regular paths, allowing attackers to read or write files outside the intended template directory through crafted repository templates.

MitigationUpgrade Gitea to version 1.25.5 or later. If immediate patching is not possible, restrict template repository feature access to trusted users only.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
None

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

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check installed Gitea version
    Run 'gitea --version' or check the Gitea admin dashboard under 'Site Administration > Info'. Compare the version number to the affected range (any version before 1.25.5).
    Affected if The installed version is 1.25.4 or earlier.
  2. Verify template repository feature is accessible
    Navigate to the repository creation page and confirm the 'Template Repository' option is available. Check user permissions to create repositories from templates.
    Affected if Users with repository creation permissions can access the template repository feature.
  3. Inspect existing template repositories for symlinks
    Examine any template repositories in your Gitea instance. For each template, list all files using 'git ls-tree -r HEAD' and check for symlink entries (type 'blob' pointing to symlink targets) or unusual path references.
    Affected if A template repository contains symlinks that resolve outside the repository root or non-regular file types.
  4. Review recent repository creation logs
    Check Gitea application logs for entries involving 'template' and repository creation. Look for any repositories created from templates around the time of potential exploitation.
    Affected if Repositories were recently created from templates and the Gitea version is vulnerable.
  5. Audit filesystem for unauthorized file writes
    Review the Gitea repository root directory (typically /home/git/gitea-repositories or similar). Check for any files or directories created outside individual user repository folders, especially at the repository root level.
    Affected if Files exist outside expected repository boundaries, indicating potential path traversal exploitation.

You are affected if Gitea version is 1.25.4 or earlier and template repositories have been used or are accessible to users with repository creation permissions.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Patch available Apply the vendor patch
Vendor patch github.com →
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Gitea to version 1.25.5 or later. If immediate patching is not possible, restrict template repository feature access to trusted users only.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

1.25.5 or later

  1. 1. Check current Gitea version by running `gitea --version` or viewing the admin dashboard.
  2. 2. If running a version before 1.25.5, plan for upgrade to version 1.25.5 or later.
  3. 3. Back up the Gitea instance including database and repositories.
  4. 4. Follow the official Gitea upgrade documentation for your deployment method (binary, Docker, or package manager).
  5. 5. After upgrade, verify the new version with `gitea --version`.

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
19.0 hours of engineering $3,280
Get the patch applied

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,248.

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2026-25718 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data