fix(actions)!: require merged PR to bypass fork PR approval gate (#38010) (#38041)

Backport #38010 by @bircni

`ifNeedApproval` in `services/actions/notifier_helper.go` decided
whether a
fork PR's workflow run had to wait for maintainer approval. The bypass
clause
counted any prior `approved_by > 0` run for `(repo_id,
trigger_user_id)`, so
the very first Approve-and-run click on a contributor's fork PR
permanently
trusted that user for every future fork PR in the same repository —
including
PRs whose only change is the workflow YAML itself.

Approving a workflow *run* is not the same as merging *code*. This
change
aligns the gate with GitHub Actions' first-time-contributor model: trust
is
granted only after the user has had a pull request merged in the repo.

## Behavior change

- **Before**: one approval = permanent trust for that user in that repo.
- **After**: every fork PR is gated until the contributor has at least
one
  merged PR in the repo.

Existing already-approved runs and merged PRs continue to work; only the
trust criterion for *future* fork PRs changes. Maintainers who rely on
the
implicit "approve once" trust will see the approval banner reappear
until
they merge a PR from that contributor.

---------

Signed-off-by: bircni <bircni@icloud.com>
Co-authored-by: bircni <bircni@icloud.com>

models/actions/run_list.go

@@ -70,7 +70,6 @@ type FindRunOptions struct {
 	Ref              string // the commit/tag/… that caused this workflow
 	TriggerUserID    int64
 	TriggerEvent     webhook_module.HookEventType
-	Approved         bool // not util.OptionalBool, it works only when it's true
 	Status           []Status
 	ConcurrencyGroup string
 	CommitSHA        string
@@ -87,9 +86,6 @@ func (opts FindRunOptions) ToConds() builder.Cond {
 	if opts.TriggerUserID > 0 {
 		cond = cond.And(builder.Eq{"`action_run`.trigger_user_id": opts.TriggerUserID})
 	}
-	if opts.Approved {
-		cond = cond.And(builder.Gt{"`action_run`.approved_by": 0})
-	}
 	if len(opts.Status) > 0 {
 		cond = cond.And(builder.In("`action_run`.status", opts.Status))
 	}

services/actions/notifier_helper.go

@@ -399,6 +399,24 @@ func notifyPackage(ctx context.Context, sender *user_model.User, pd *packages_mo
 }
 
 func ifNeedApproval(ctx context.Context, run *actions_model.ActionRun, repo *repo_model.Repository, user *user_model.User) (bool, error) {
+	canWrite := func(ctx context.Context, repo *repo_model.Repository, user *user_model.User) (bool, error) {
+		perm, err := access_model.GetDoerRepoPermission(ctx, repo, user)
+		if err != nil {
+			return false, err
+		}
+		return perm.CanWrite(unit_model.TypeActions), nil
+	}
+	return ifNeedApprovalWith(ctx, run, repo, user, canWrite, issues_model.HasMergedPullRequestInRepo)
+}
+
+func ifNeedApprovalWith(
+	ctx context.Context,
+	run *actions_model.ActionRun,
+	repo *repo_model.Repository,
+	user *user_model.User,
+	canWriteActions func(context.Context, *repo_model.Repository, *user_model.User) (bool, error),
+	hasMergedPR func(context.Context, int64, int64) (bool, error),
+) (bool, error) {
 	// 1. don't need approval if it's not a fork PR
 	// 2. don't need approval if the event is `pull_request_target` since the workflow will run in the context of base branch
 	// 		see https://docs.github.com/en/actions/managing-workflow-runs/approving-workflow-runs-from-public-forks#about-workflow-runs-from-public-forks
@@ -413,27 +431,24 @@ func ifNeedApproval(ctx context.Context, run *actions_model.ActionRun, repo *rep
 	}
 
 	// don't need approval if the user can write
-	if perm, err := access_model.GetDoerRepoPermission(ctx, repo, user); err != nil {
+	if ok, err := canWriteActions(ctx, repo, user); err != nil {
 		return false, fmt.Errorf("GetDoerRepoPermission: %w", err)
-	} else if perm.CanWrite(unit_model.TypeActions) {
+	} else if ok {
 		log.Trace("do not need approval because user %d can write", user.ID)
 		return false, nil
 	}
 
-	// don't need approval if the user has been approved before
-	if count, err := db.Count[actions_model.ActionRun](ctx, actions_model.FindRunOptions{
-		RepoID:        repo.ID,
-		TriggerUserID: user.ID,
-		Approved:      true,
-	}); err != nil {
-		return false, fmt.Errorf("CountRuns: %w", err)
-	} else if count > 0 {
-		log.Trace("do not need approval because user %d has been approved before", user.ID)
+	// trust the user only after a merged PR — matching GitHub Actions. Approving one
+	// fork PR's run must not implicitly trust later fork PRs that replace the workflow.
+	if merged, err := hasMergedPR(ctx, repo.ID, user.ID); err != nil {
+		return false, fmt.Errorf("HasMergedPullRequestInRepo: %w", err)
+	} else if merged {
+		log.Trace("do not need approval because user %d has a merged pull request in repo %d", user.ID, repo.ID)
 		return false, nil
 	}
 
 	// otherwise, need approval
-	log.Trace("need approval because it's the first time user %d triggered actions", user.ID)
+	log.Trace("need approval because user %d has no merged pull request in repo %d", user.ID, repo.ID)
 	return true, nil
 }
 

services/actions/notifier_helper_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,102 @@
+// Copyright 2026 The Gitea Authors. All rights reserved.
+// SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT
+
+package actions
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"errors"
+	"testing"
+
+	actions_model "code.gitea.io/gitea/models/actions"
+	repo_model "code.gitea.io/gitea/models/repo"
+	user_model "code.gitea.io/gitea/models/user"
+	actions_module "code.gitea.io/gitea/modules/actions"
+
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
+)
+
+func TestIfNeedApproval(t *testing.T) {
+	alwaysWrite := func(_ context.Context, _ *repo_model.Repository, _ *user_model.User) (bool, error) {
+		return true, nil
+	}
+	neverWrite := func(_ context.Context, _ *repo_model.Repository, _ *user_model.User) (bool, error) {
+		return false, nil
+	}
+	hasMerged := func(_ context.Context, _, _ int64) (bool, error) { return true, nil }
+	noMerged := func(_ context.Context, _, _ int64) (bool, error) { return false, nil }
+	errPerm := errors.New("perm error")
+	errMerge := errors.New("merge error")
+
+	forkRun := &actions_model.ActionRun{IsForkPullRequest: true, TriggerEvent: actions_module.GithubEventPullRequest}
+	nonForkRun := &actions_model.ActionRun{IsForkPullRequest: false, TriggerEvent: actions_module.GithubEventPullRequest}
+	prTargetRun := &actions_model.ActionRun{IsForkPullRequest: true, TriggerEvent: actions_module.GithubEventPullRequestTarget}
+
+	repo := &repo_model.Repository{ID: 1}
+	normalUser := &user_model.User{ID: 10}
+	restrictedUser := &user_model.User{ID: 11, IsRestricted: true}
+
+	t.Run("not a fork PR never needs approval", func(t *testing.T) {
+		need, err := ifNeedApprovalWith(t.Context(), nonForkRun, repo, normalUser, alwaysWrite, hasMerged)
+		require.NoError(t, err)
+		assert.False(t, need)
+	})
+
+	t.Run("pull_request_target never needs approval even when fork", func(t *testing.T) {
+		need, err := ifNeedApprovalWith(t.Context(), prTargetRun, repo, normalUser, alwaysWrite, hasMerged)
+		require.NoError(t, err)
+		assert.False(t, need)
+	})
+
+	t.Run("restricted user always needs approval", func(t *testing.T) {
+		need, err := ifNeedApprovalWith(t.Context(), forkRun, repo, restrictedUser, alwaysWrite, hasMerged)
+		require.NoError(t, err)
+		assert.True(t, need)
+	})
+
+	t.Run("fork PR with write permission does not need approval", func(t *testing.T) {
+		need, err := ifNeedApprovalWith(t.Context(), forkRun, repo, normalUser, alwaysWrite, noMerged)
+		require.NoError(t, err)
+		assert.False(t, need)
+	})
+
+	t.Run("fork PR with merged PR but no write permission does not need approval", func(t *testing.T) {
+		need, err := ifNeedApprovalWith(t.Context(), forkRun, repo, normalUser, neverWrite, hasMerged)
+		require.NoError(t, err)
+		assert.False(t, need)
+	})
+
+	t.Run("fork PR with no write and no merged PR needs approval", func(t *testing.T) {
+		need, err := ifNeedApprovalWith(t.Context(), forkRun, repo, normalUser, neverWrite, noMerged)
+		require.NoError(t, err)
+		assert.True(t, need)
+	})
+
+	t.Run("canWriteActions error is propagated", func(t *testing.T) {
+		failWrite := func(_ context.Context, _ *repo_model.Repository, _ *user_model.User) (bool, error) {
+			return false, errPerm
+		}
+		_, err := ifNeedApprovalWith(t.Context(), forkRun, repo, normalUser, failWrite, noMerged)
+		require.ErrorIs(t, err, errPerm)
+	})
+
+	t.Run("hasMergedPR error is propagated", func(t *testing.T) {
+		failMerge := func(_ context.Context, _, _ int64) (bool, error) { return false, errMerge }
+		_, err := ifNeedApprovalWith(t.Context(), forkRun, repo, normalUser, neverWrite, failMerge)
+		require.ErrorIs(t, err, errMerge)
+	})
+
+	t.Run("restricted user skips permission check entirely", func(t *testing.T) {
+		// The perm and merge functions must not be called for a restricted user.
+		called := false
+		trackWrite := func(_ context.Context, _ *repo_model.Repository, _ *user_model.User) (bool, error) {
+			called = true
+			return true, nil
+		}
+		need, err := ifNeedApprovalWith(t.Context(), forkRun, repo, restrictedUser, trackWrite, noMerged)
+		require.NoError(t, err)
+		assert.True(t, need)
+		assert.False(t, called, "permission check must not run for restricted user")
+	})
+}

tests/integration/actions_approve_test.go

@@ -140,3 +140,107 @@ jobs:
 		assert.Equal(t, actions_model.StatusWaiting, run2.Status)
 	})
 }
+
+// TestForkPullRequestApprovalNotBypassedByPriorApproval verifies that a single
+// approval on a fork PR does not permanently trust the contributor: a subsequent
+// fork PR from the same user must still be gated (Blocked / NeedApproval=true)
+// until that user has had a pull request merged in the repo.
+func TestForkPullRequestApprovalNotBypassedByPriorApproval(t *testing.T) {
+	onGiteaRun(t, func(t *testing.T, u *url.URL) {
+		user2 := unittest.AssertExistsAndLoadBean(t, &user_model.User{ID: 2})
+		user2Session := loginUser(t, user2.Name)
+		user2Token := getTokenForLoggedInUser(t, user2Session, auth_model.AccessTokenScopeWriteRepository, auth_model.AccessTokenScopeWriteUser)
+		user4 := unittest.AssertExistsAndLoadBean(t, &user_model.User{ID: 4})
+		user4Session := loginUser(t, user4.Name)
+		user4Token := getTokenForLoggedInUser(t, user4Session, auth_model.AccessTokenScopeWriteRepository, auth_model.AccessTokenScopeWriteUser)
+
+		apiBaseRepo := createActionsTestRepo(t, user2Token, "fork-approval-regression", false)
+		baseRepo := unittest.AssertExistsAndLoadBean(t, &repo_model.Repository{ID: apiBaseRepo.ID})
+		user2APICtx := NewAPITestContext(t, baseRepo.OwnerName, baseRepo.Name, auth_model.AccessTokenScopeWriteRepository)
+		defer doAPIDeleteRepository(user2APICtx)(t)
+
+		wfTreePath := ".gitea/workflows/ci.yml"
+		wfContent := `name: CI
+on: pull_request
+jobs:
+  test:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - run: echo ok
+`
+		createWorkflowFile(t, user2Token, baseRepo.OwnerName, baseRepo.Name, wfTreePath,
+			getWorkflowCreateFileOptions(user2, baseRepo.DefaultBranch, "add ci", wfContent))
+
+		// user4 forks the repo
+		req := NewRequestWithJSON(t, "POST", fmt.Sprintf("/api/v1/repos/%s/%s/forks", baseRepo.OwnerName, baseRepo.Name),
+			&api.CreateForkOption{Name: new("fork-approval-regression-fork")}).AddTokenAuth(user4Token)
+		resp := MakeRequest(t, req, http.StatusAccepted)
+		apiForkRepo := DecodeJSON(t, resp, &api.Repository{})
+		forkRepo := unittest.AssertExistsAndLoadBean(t, &repo_model.Repository{ID: apiForkRepo.ID})
+		user4APICtx := NewAPITestContext(t, user4.Name, forkRepo.Name, auth_model.AccessTokenScopeWriteRepository)
+		defer doAPIDeleteRepository(user4APICtx)(t)
+
+		// PR #1: a benign change from user4's fork — first-time contributor, gate engages.
+		doAPICreateFile(user4APICtx, "first.txt", &api.CreateFileOptions{
+			FileOptions: api.FileOptions{
+				NewBranchName: "first",
+				Message:       "first",
+				Author:        api.Identity{Name: user4.Name, Email: user4.Email},
+				Committer:     api.Identity{Name: user4.Name, Email: user4.Email},
+				Dates:         api.CommitDateOptions{Author: time.Now(), Committer: time.Now()},
+			},
+			ContentBase64: base64.StdEncoding.EncodeToString([]byte("first")),
+		})(t)
+		pr1, err := doAPICreatePullRequest(user4APICtx, baseRepo.OwnerName, baseRepo.Name, baseRepo.DefaultBranch, user4.Name+":first")(t)
+		assert.NoError(t, err)
+
+		run1 := unittest.AssertExistsAndLoadBean(t, &actions_model.ActionRun{RepoID: baseRepo.ID, TriggerUserID: user4.ID, Ref: fmt.Sprintf("refs/pull/%d/head", pr1.Index)})
+		assert.True(t, run1.NeedApproval, "first fork PR must require approval")
+		assert.Equal(t, actions_model.StatusBlocked, run1.Status)
+
+		// user2 approves run1.
+		req = NewRequest(t, "POST", fmt.Sprintf("%s/actions/approve-all-checks?commit_id=%s", baseRepo.Link(), pr1.Head.Sha))
+		user2Session.MakeRequest(t, req, http.StatusOK)
+		run1 = unittest.AssertExistsAndLoadBean(t, &actions_model.ActionRun{ID: run1.ID})
+		assert.False(t, run1.NeedApproval)
+		assert.Equal(t, user2.ID, run1.ApprovedBy)
+
+		// PR #2: same user, fresh branch. Pre-fix, this run was created with
+		// NeedApproval=false and dispatched immediately — the bypass path.
+		doAPICreateFile(user4APICtx, "second.txt", &api.CreateFileOptions{
+			FileOptions: api.FileOptions{
+				NewBranchName: "second",
+				Message:       "second",
+				Author:        api.Identity{Name: user4.Name, Email: user4.Email},
+				Committer:     api.Identity{Name: user4.Name, Email: user4.Email},
+				Dates:         api.CommitDateOptions{Author: time.Now(), Committer: time.Now()},
+			},
+			ContentBase64: base64.StdEncoding.EncodeToString([]byte("second")),
+		})(t)
+		pr2, err := doAPICreatePullRequest(user4APICtx, baseRepo.OwnerName, baseRepo.Name, baseRepo.DefaultBranch, user4.Name+":second")(t)
+		assert.NoError(t, err)
+
+		run2 := unittest.AssertExistsAndLoadBean(t, &actions_model.ActionRun{RepoID: baseRepo.ID, TriggerUserID: user4.ID, Ref: fmt.Sprintf("refs/pull/%d/head", pr2.Index)})
+		assert.True(t, run2.NeedApproval, "second fork PR must still require approval — prior approval-to-run does not grant trust")
+		assert.Equal(t, actions_model.StatusBlocked, run2.Status)
+		assert.EqualValues(t, 0, run2.ApprovedBy)
+
+		// After merging PR #1, user4 becomes a known contributor and the gate lifts for a new PR.
+		doAPIMergePullRequest(user2APICtx, baseRepo.OwnerName, baseRepo.Name, pr1.Index)(t)
+		doAPICreateFile(user4APICtx, "third.txt", &api.CreateFileOptions{
+			FileOptions: api.FileOptions{
+				NewBranchName: "third",
+				Message:       "third",
+				Author:        api.Identity{Name: user4.Name, Email: user4.Email},
+				Committer:     api.Identity{Name: user4.Name, Email: user4.Email},
+				Dates:         api.CommitDateOptions{Author: time.Now(), Committer: time.Now()},
+			},
+			ContentBase64: base64.StdEncoding.EncodeToString([]byte("third")),
+		})(t)
+		pr3, err := doAPICreatePullRequest(user4APICtx, baseRepo.OwnerName, baseRepo.Name, baseRepo.DefaultBranch, user4.Name+":third")(t)
+		assert.NoError(t, err)
+
+		run3 := unittest.AssertExistsAndLoadBean(t, &actions_model.ActionRun{RepoID: baseRepo.ID, TriggerUserID: user4.ID, Ref: fmt.Sprintf("refs/pull/%d/head", pr3.Index)})
+		assert.False(t, run3.NeedApproval, "fork PR from a user with a prior merged PR should not require approval")
+	})
+}

tests/integration/actions_concurrency_test.go

@@ -484,14 +484,18 @@ jobs:
 			},
 			ContentBase64: base64.StdEncoding.EncodeToString([]byte("user4-fix2")),
 		})(t)
-		doAPICreatePullRequest(user4APICtx, baseRepo.OwnerName, baseRepo.Name, baseRepo.DefaultBranch, user4.Name+":do-not-cancel/ccc")(t)
-		// cannot fetch the task because cancel-in-progress is false
+		pr3, _ := doAPICreatePullRequest(user4APICtx, baseRepo.OwnerName, baseRepo.Name, baseRepo.DefaultBranch, user4.Name+":do-not-cancel/ccc")(t)
+		// cannot fetch the task: approval still required (user4 has no merged PR) and cancel-in-progress is false
 		runner.fetchNoTask(t)
 		runner.execTask(t, pr2Task1, &mockTaskOutcome{
 			result: runnerv1.Result_RESULT_SUCCESS,
 		})
 		pr2Run1 = unittest.AssertExistsAndLoadBean(t, &actions_model.ActionRun{ID: pr2Run1.ID})
 		assert.Equal(t, actions_model.StatusSuccess, pr2Run1.Status)
+		// user2 approves the third PR's run (user4 still has no merged PR, approval still required)
+		pr3Run1Pending := unittest.AssertExistsAndLoadBean(t, &actions_model.ActionRun{RepoID: baseRepo.ID, TriggerUserID: user4.ID, Ref: fmt.Sprintf("refs/pull/%d/head", pr3.Index)})
+		req = NewRequest(t, "POST", fmt.Sprintf("/%s/%s/actions/runs/%d/approve", baseRepo.OwnerName, baseRepo.Name, pr3Run1Pending.ID))
+		user2Session.MakeRequest(t, req, http.StatusOK)
 		// fetch the task
 		pr3Task1 := runner.fetchTask(t)
 		_, _, pr3Run1 := getTaskAndJobAndRunByTaskID(t, pr3Task1.Id)