CVE-2020-13246Public exploitNetwork attack vector

Server hang via nested team lookup deadlock

Published May 20, 2020 · Updated Aug 4, 2024

Improper locking in Gitea 1.11.5 and earlier allows attackers to hang the server by transferring repository ownership between organizations. TransferOwnership queries the destination organization’s teams through a separate database context while its ownership-transfer session remains active, causing the operations to wait on each other. Attackers must be able to initiate an organization-to-organization repository transfer, and the deadlock blocks service until the server is restarted.

CVSS severity7.5
High
EPSS probability1.99%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Improper locking in Gitea 1.11.5 and earlier allows attackers to hang the server by transferring repository ownership between organizations. TransferOwnership queries the destination organization’s teams through a separate database context while its ownership-transfer session remains active, causing the operations to wait on each other. Attackers must be able to initiate an organization-to-organization repository transfer, and the deadlock blocks service until the server is restarted.

The record

CVE
CVE-2020-13246
Published
May 20, 2020
Updated
Aug 4, 2024
Vendor
Unknown vendor
Product
Unknown product
Classifications
CWE-667, T1499.004
Attack vector
network
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. May 20, 2020CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 4, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Affected buildAffected product and version details are unavailable.

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

Affected products and versions are unavailable in this record.

Published CVSS scores

7.5GitHub Advisory DatabaseCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

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No observations available

Sep 9, 2026Sep 15, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 15, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-667Improper Locking
T1499.004Endpoint Denial of Service: Application or System Exploitation

Public exploit references

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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