Critical Gogs RCE Vulnerability Lets Any Authenticated User Execute Arbitrary Code

Summary

A critical remote code execution vulnerability in Gogs self-hosted Git service (CVSS 9.4) allows any authenticated user to execute arbitrary code by creating a pull request with a malicious branch name that injects the --exec flag into git rebase operations. The flaw requires no admin privileges or user interaction and remains unpatched as of May 28, 2026. Successful exploitation could lead to server breach, credential theft, and cross-tenant data disclosure on shared instances.

Full text

Critical Gogs RCE Vulnerability Lets Any Authenticated User Execute Arbitrary Code Ravie LakshmananMay 28, 2026Vulnerability / Open Source A critical security vulnerability has been disclosed in Gogs, a popular open-source self-hosted Git service, that allows an authenticated user to execute arbitrary code under certain conditions. The security flaw, per Rapid7, is rated 9.4 on the CVSS scoring system. It does not have a CVE identifier. "The vulnerability allows any authenticated user to achieve remote code execution (RCE) on the server by creating a pull request with a malicious branch name that injects the --exec flag into git rebase during the 'Rebase before merging' merge operation," security researcher Jonah Burgess said. Rebasing is a Git action that's used to take a sequence of commits from one feature branch and replay them on top of another base branch to create a linear project history. While "git rebase" solves the same problem as "git merge" -- i.e., integrating changes from one branch into another -- the former rewrites the project history by creating new commits for each commit in the original branch. The "git rebase" action also accepts as an argument a shell command via an --exec flag that's executed after each commit is replayed. A notable aspect of the vulnerability is that it does not require admin privileges or interaction with other users. To pull off the attack, all an unauthenticated threat actor has to do is create an account and repository on any default-configured instance. "Any registered user who creates a repo is automatically its owner," Burgess said. "From there, enabling rebase merging is a single toggle in settings, and the entire exploit chain can be operated without interaction from any other user." In an alternative scenario, a user with write access to a repository where rebase is already enabled can exploit the flaw directly to obtain code execution. On Gogs instances where repository creation is restricted, an attacker is required to have write access to any repository that has rebase merging enabled. As of writing, the vulnerability remains unpatched despite it being reported to the maintainer on March 17, 2026. Successful exploitation of the bug could grant an attacker the ability to breach the server, access every repository on the instance, dump credentials, move to other network-accessible systems, and tamper with any hosted repository's code. What's more, it can result in a cross-tenant data breach, allowing the attacker to read other users' private repositories hosted on the same shared server. According to Rapid7, the flaw impacts all supported platforms, such as Windows, Linux, and macOS. There are an estimated 1,141 internet-facing Gogs instances. However, the actual figure is expected to be higher, given that most deployments are placed behind VPNs or internal networks. In the absence of a patch, the following recommendations are outlined - Restrict user registration (DISABLE_REGISTRATION = true in app.ini) to prevent untrusted users from creating accounts Restrict repository creation (MAX_CREATION_LIMIT = 0 in app.ini) to prevent users from creating their own repositories Audit rebase merge settings Rapid7 has also made a Metasploit module that automates the full exploit chain against both Linux and Windows targets. The module supports two modes: a default mode where a temporary repository is created under the attacker's account, the exploit is run, and the repository is deleted. The second approach targets a repository that the attacker already has write and merge access to. "When the attacker creates and deletes their own repository, the only trace is an HTTP 500 in the server logs," the cybersecurity expert said. "When exploiting an existing repository, additional artifacts remain." Found this article interesting? Follow us on Google News, Twitter and LinkedIn to read more exclusive content we post. SHARE     Tweet Share Share Share SHARE  cybersecurity, data breach, Git, Gogs, Metasploit, Open Source, rapid7, remote code execution, Vulnerability ⚡ Top Stories This Week Claude Mythos AI Finds 10,000 High-Severity Flaws in Widely Used Software Megalodon GitHub Attack Targets 5,561 Repos with Malicious CI/CD Workflows ThreatsDay Bulletin: Linux Rootkits, Router 0-Day, AI Intrusions, Scam Kits and 25 New Stories Microsoft Warns of Two Actively Exploited Defender Vulnerabilities 9-Year-Old Linux Kernel Flaw Enables Root Command Execution on Major Distros GitHub Internal Repositories Breached via Malicious Nx Console VS Code Extension GitHub Breached — Employee Device Hack Led to Exfiltration of 3,800+ Internal Repos Microsoft Releases Mitigation for YellowKey BitLocker Bypass CVE-2026-45585 Exploit DirtyDecrypt PoC Released for Linux Kernel CVE-2026-31635 LPE Vulnerability ⚡ Weekly Recap: Exchange 0-Day, npm Worm, Fake AI Repo, Cisco Exploit and More Ivanti, Fortinet, SAP, VMware, n8n Patch RCE, SQL Injection, Privilege Escalation Flaws MiniPlasma Windows 0-Day Enables SYSTEM Privilege Escalation on Fully Patched Systems NGINX CVE-2026-42945 Exploited in the Wild, Causing Worker Crashes and Possible RCE Making Vulnerable Drivers Exploitable Without Hardware - The BYOVD Perspective The New Phishing Click: How OAuth Consent Bypasses MFA Developer Workstations Are Now Part of the Software Supply Chain ⭐ Featured Resources Claim ANY.RUN Anniversary Offer for Faster Malware Analysis [Guide] Learn to Detect AI Typosquatting Risks in Your Domain [Guide] Get Key Identity Security Insights From 2026 Snapshot Discover How to Navigate the Era of Constant Cyber Exposure

Indicators of Compromise

• malware — Gogs RCE exploit chain

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