What it is
GHSA-6V53-HR58-556R is an unauthenticated Unauthenticated Arbitrary File Read can lead to RCE affecting Go gitea.dev. ### Summary An unauthenticated remote attacker can submit Org-mode markup containing a #+INCLUDE...
Vulnerability report
Active exploitation observed
High confidence
Not in CISA KEV
GHSA-6V53-HR58-556R
Unauthenticated Arbitrary File Read can lead to RCE
Go / gitea.dev
- Severity
- CVSS 9.8 · Critical
- Confidence
- High
- Exploit status
- Observed in sensors
- EPSS
- —
- First observed
- 07 Sep 2026
- Last observed
- 09 Sep 2026
Decision summary
What security teams need to know first
Direct answers before the deeper technical record.
Is it exploited?
Yes. Previdian sensors observed exploitation attempts with high confidence.
Who is affected?
Go / gitea.dev.
What should we do?
Patch immediately, validate internet-facing exposure, and monitor for matching requests.
Overview
Unauthenticated Arbitrary File Read can lead to RCE
### Summary An unauthenticated remote attacker can submit Org-mode markup containing a #+INCLUDE directive to POST /{owner}/{repo}/markup for any suitable public repository to read arbitrary server files. By extracting INTERNAL_TOKEN from app.ini, they can inject a Git hook through the internal logger and achieve command execution as the Gitea OS user during an anonymous clone.
### Details Gitea registers `POST /{username}/{reponame}/markup` with optional sign-in, repository assignment, and a repository-unit reader check. An anonymous user passes that check for a public repository with a normal readable code unit. The handler passes the supplied `Mode`, `Text`, and `FilePath` into Gitea's generic markup renderer. Selecting `Mode: file` and a `.org` filename chooses the Org-mode renderer.
Gitea 1.27.0 initializes `go-org` using `org.New()` and does not replace its default `ReadFile` callback. In `go-org` 1.9.1, that callback is `ioutil.ReadFile`; `#+INCLUDE` accepts absolute paths and passes them directly to that callback.
#### Preconditions
- At least one repository is publicly readable and exposes a unit accepted by the repository markup route. A normal public repository with its code unit enabled satisfies this condition. - Standard Gitea storage permissions allow the service user to update Gitea's managed global Git configuration.
### Impact - Read arbitrary files accessible to the Gitea service user without an account. - Submit the file-read payload directly through a public repository's web markup route without committing a file or obtaining repository write access. - Expose Gitea configuration, internal bearer tokens, OAuth/JWT material, and deployment metadata
### Affected - The vulnerable version seem v1.22.1 ~ v1.27.0
### Credit
Found by @xbow-security. Triaged by Guido Leo <[email protected]>.
Independently reported by https://github.com/NightRang3r
Ecosystem
Package
Affected
- Published
- —
- Exploitation Reported
- 07 Sep 2026
- Attack vector
- Remote
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
CVE References
Exploitation evidence
Why Previdian marks this advisory as exploited
Third-party attestation and first-party sensor observation are shown separately so teams can judge the evidence chain.
Exploited in the wild
Previdian
Previdian independently recorded this as exploited after first seeing it in honeypot sensors.
Active exploitation observed
Previdian sensor
Previdian first observed exploitation attempts targeting this vulnerability in our honeypot sensors.
Known exploited vulnerability sources
Per-source evidence links for KEV attestations are available through the Previdian Pro API.
Learn about Pro API access| Source | Added |
|---|---|
| Previdian First | 2026-09-08 07:53 UTC |
Sensor telemetry
First-party evidence of exploitation activity
Previdian sensors recorded exploitation attempts targeting this vulnerability. The cards and chart show volume, unique attackers, and daily activity.
34
Attempts observed
1
Unique attacker IPs
1
Attacker countries
ER
2
Sensors observed
GHSA-6V53-HR58-556R exploitation attempts over the last 7 days
Daily events observed by Previdian sensors
Updated 11 Sep 2026
5 Sep
6 Sep
7 Sep
8 Sep
9 Sep
10 Sep
11 Sep
First observed 07 Sep 2026 · Last observed 09 Sep 2026
Pro adds sensor region and window summaries. Enterprise adds raw IPs, paths, User-Agents, and payloads.
Detection
Operational artifacts and observed signals
Make the evidence actionable in scanner, SOC, and edge-control workflows.
Observed signals
- Request targets
- User-Agents
- Callback hosts
- 5
- 1
- 0
Request targets and User-Agents available in Pro. Callback host details available in Enterprise.
Scanner coverage
No scanner integrations recorded yet.
Virtual patch status
No Previdian virtual patch is currently available. Future rules ship for ModSecurity, Cloudflare, and AWS WAF.
Learn about virtual patches →Risk and context
Severity, weaknesses, and research context
CVSS v3.1
9.8
Critical
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS
—
Timeline
From disclosure to observed exploitation
-
Added to Previdian KEV Feed
High-confidence, third-party attested exploitation
-
Observed by Previdian sensors
Evidence-backed exploitation signal
Pro API
Automate this intelligence
Confidence, exploit status, sensor telemetry, PoCs, scanner integrations, mentions, and tags are available programmatically for VM, SOC, and CTI workflows.
- Evidence confidence and provenance
- First-party sensor telemetry
- PoC and scanner references
- Affected versions and enrichment
- Automation-ready JSON delivery
GET /api/v2/pro/kevs/GHSA-6V53-HR58-556R
Free JSON includes basic KEV fields{
"ghsa_id": "GHSA-6V53-HR58-556R",
"confidence": "High",
"cvss_score": 9.8,
"cvss_estimated": false,
"epss_score": null,
"exploit_status": {
"exploited_in_the_wild": true,
"active_exploitation_observed": true
},
"sensor_telemetry": { "attempts": 34, "sensors": 2 }
}