CVE-2026-22592 Overview
CVE-2026-22592 is a Denial of Service vulnerability affecting Gogs, an open source self-hosted Git service. The vulnerability allows an authenticated user to crash the application by exploiting a race condition during file synchronization. When a repository file is deleted before synchronization completes, the application encounters an unhandled error state that causes a complete service crash.
Critical Impact
Authenticated attackers can cause complete service unavailability by triggering application crashes through deliberate file deletion during synchronization operations.
Affected Products
- Gogs version 0.13.3 and prior
Discovery Timeline
- 2026-02-06 - CVE CVE-2026-22592 published to NVD
- 2026-02-06 - Last updated in NVD database
Technical Details for CVE-2026-22592
Vulnerability Analysis
This vulnerability stems from Missing Authorization (CWE-862) combined with insufficient error handling during repository file synchronization operations. The Gogs application fails to properly validate the existence of files before attempting synchronization operations, creating a window where file deletion can trigger an unhandled exception.
The attack requires authentication but can be executed by any user with repository access. The impact is limited to availability - there is no confidentiality or integrity breach - but the complete application crash affects all users of the Gogs instance, not just the attacker's session.
Root Cause
The root cause is improper handling of file system state during synchronization operations. When Gogs initiates a sync operation, it does not implement proper file existence checks or exception handling for the scenario where a file is deleted between the initial file enumeration and the actual synchronization attempt. This Time-of-Check Time-of-Use (TOCTOU) style race condition allows the deletion to occur in the critical window, causing the application to crash when it attempts to process the non-existent file.
Attack Vector
The attack exploits a network-accessible endpoint requiring low-privilege authentication. An attacker must have valid credentials to access a repository, then deliberately delete a file while a synchronization operation is in progress. The attack requires no user interaction and can be reliably reproduced.
The attack flow involves:
- Authenticating to the Gogs instance with valid credentials
- Initiating or waiting for a repository synchronization operation
- Deleting a repository file during the synchronization window
- The application encounters the missing file and crashes due to unhandled exception
For technical details on the vulnerability mechanism, refer to the GitHub Security Advisory.
Detection Methods for CVE-2026-22592
Indicators of Compromise
- Unexpected Gogs service crashes or restarts in logs
- Multiple authentication events followed by rapid file deletion operations
- Repository sync operations failing with file-not-found errors immediately before crashes
- Unusual patterns of file deletion during active synchronization windows
Detection Strategies
- Monitor Gogs application logs for panic or fatal error messages related to file operations
- Implement alerting on repeated service restarts within short time periods
- Track file deletion events correlated with synchronization operations
- Audit user activity for suspicious patterns of file manipulation during sync operations
Monitoring Recommendations
- Enable verbose logging for repository synchronization operations
- Configure service health monitoring with automatic restart detection
- Implement rate limiting on file deletion operations during synchronization
- Set up log aggregation to correlate file operations with application crashes
How to Mitigate CVE-2026-22592
Immediate Actions Required
- Upgrade Gogs to version 0.13.4 or 0.14.0+dev immediately
- Audit user accounts with repository write access and review recent activity
- Implement monitoring for unusual service restart patterns
- Consider temporarily restricting file deletion permissions for non-administrative users
Patch Information
The vulnerability has been addressed in Gogs versions 0.13.4 and 0.14.0+dev. The fix implements proper file existence validation and exception handling during synchronization operations. Organizations should upgrade to the patched versions as soon as possible. For detailed patch information, see the GitHub Security Advisory.
Workarounds
- Restrict repository write access to trusted users only until patching is complete
- Implement external process monitoring to automatically restart Gogs if crashes occur
- Consider deploying Gogs behind a load balancer with health checks for faster recovery
- Monitor and rate-limit file deletion API calls at the network level
# Example: Configure systemd service restart policy for Gogs
# /etc/systemd/system/gogs.service.d/restart.conf
[Service]
Restart=always
RestartSec=5
StartLimitIntervalSec=60
StartLimitBurst=10
Disclaimer: This content was generated using AI. While we strive for accuracy, please verify critical information with official sources.
