Django, a popular Python web framework, is designed with security in mind and provides built-in protections for many common web vulnerabilities. However, misconfigurations, improper usage, or unpatched versions can expose applications to risks. Below, I’ll outline the most common vulnerabilities based on Django’s official security guidelines, followed by descriptions, potential impacts, and recommended fixes. These are drawn from Django’s core security topics.
For the latest specific CVEs (e.g., from 2024–2025), always check Django’s security release archives and upgrade promptly, as fixes often involve patching the framework itself.
1. Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)
Description: Attackers inject malicious scripts into web pages viewed by other users, often via stored data (e.g., in databases) or untrusted inputs like cookies. Django auto-escapes HTML in templates, but this can fail with unsafe practices like using mark_safe() or outputting non-HTML content without proper escaping.
Impact: Script execution in victims’ browsers, leading to data theft, session hijacking, or defacement.
Fix:
• Sanitize all user inputs using Django’s form validation.
• Avoid is_safe, safe, or mark_safe unless absolutely necessary; always escape outputs.
• For database-stored HTML, use libraries like Bleach for sanitization.
• Enable auto-escaping in templates and test for edge cases like CSS/JS injection.
2. Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF)
Description: Malicious sites trick authenticated users into performing unwanted actions (e.g., changing passwords) by forging requests. Django’s CsrfViewMiddleware adds tokens to forms, but disabling it or using uncontrolled subdomains can bypass protection.
Impact: Unauthorized actions on behalf of users, such as fund transfers or data deletion.
Fix:
• Keep CSRF middleware enabled and include {% csrf_token %} in all POST forms.
• Avoid @csrf_exempt decorators except for APIs with other protections (e.g., JWT).
• Use HTTPS to validate the Referer header.
• Secure subdomains or use domain-specific cookies.
3. SQL Injection
Description: Attackers inject malicious SQL via user inputs, potentially dumping databases or executing commands. Django’s ORM uses parameterized queries for safety, but raw SQL, extra(), or RawSQL without escaping introduces risks.
Impact: Data breaches, database compromise, or server takeover.
Fix:
• Stick to Django’s ORM querysets for all database interactions.
• If raw SQL is unavoidable, use parameterized queries and escape user inputs.
• Avoid extra(); use annotations instead.
• Regularly audit queries for user-controlled parameters.
Note on Recent CVEs: In 2025, multiple SQL injection flaws were patched:
• CVE-2025-64459 (Nov 2025, Critical, CVSS 9.1): Affects FilteredRelation in PostgreSQL; exploitable without auth for data access or escalation. Fix: Upgrade to Django 5.2.8, 5.1.14, or 4.2.26.
• CVE-2025-13372 (Dec 2025, High): SQLi via kwargs in QuerySet.annotate() or alias(). Fix: Upgrade to 5.2.9, 5.1.15, or 4.2.27.
• CVE-2025-57833 (Sep 2025, High): Column alias mishandling in FilteredRelation. Fix: Upgrade to 5.2.6+, 5.1.12+, or 4.2.24+.
4. Clickjacking
Description: Attackers overlay hidden iframes to trick users into clicking unintended elements. Django’s XFrameOptionsMiddleware blocks framing by default.
Impact: Phishing-like attacks leading to unauthorized interactions.
Fix:
• Enable X-Frame-Options middleware with DENY or SAMEORIGIN.
• Only disable per-view if embedding is required (e.g., for admin iframes).
• Test with tools like browser dev tools.
5. SSL/HTTPS Issues
Description: Unencrypted traffic allows man-in-the-middle attacks, sniffing credentials or tampering with data. Django doesn’t enforce HTTPS by default, and misconfigured proxies can weaken CSRF.
Impact: Credential theft, data alteration, or session hijacking.
Fix:
• Deploy exclusively over HTTPS; set SECURE_SSL_REDIRECT = True to auto-redirect HTTP.
• Use secure cookies: SESSION_COOKIE_SECURE = True and CSRF_COOKIE_SECURE = True.
• Enable HSTS: Set SECURE_HSTS_SECONDS (e.g., 31536000 for 1 year), SECURE_HSTS_INCLUDE_SUBDOMAINS = True, and SECURE_HSTS_PRELOAD = True.
• Configure proxies correctly with SECURE_PROXY_SSL_HEADER.
6. Host Header Validation
Description: Spoofed Host headers can poison caches, enable CSRF, or redirect to malicious sites. Django validates against ALLOWED_HOSTS, but direct request.META['HTTP_HOST'] access bypasses this.
Impact: Cache poisoning, phishing, or unauthorized redirects.
Fix:
• Define ALLOWED_HOSTS = ['yourdomain.com', 'www.yourdomain.com'] explicitly.
• Use request.get_host() instead of raw META access.
• Avoid USE_X_FORWARDED_HOST unless behind a trusted proxy.
• Configure web servers (e.g., Nginx) to reject invalid hosts.
7. User-Uploaded Content
Description: Malicious files (e.g., oversized uploads or disguised executables) can cause DoS, XSS, or code execution if not validated.
Impact: Server crashes, storage exhaustion, or remote code execution.
Fix:
• Limit file sizes at the web server level (e.g., Nginx client_max_body_size).
• Validate and restrict file types/extensions; scan uploads for malware.
• Serve uploads from a separate domain to enforce same-origin policy.
• Store uploads outside the web root and use Django’s FileField with custom validators.
Additional Protections
• Referrer Policy: Set SECURE_REFERRER_POLICY = 'strict-origin-when-cross-origin' to limit Referer header leaks.
• Cross-Origin Opener Policy (COOP): Enable via middleware to prevent cross-origin popup interactions.
• Session Security: Use secure, HttpOnly cookies and regenerate session IDs on login.
• General Best Practices: Keep Django updated (e.g., via pip install --upgrade django), use django-admin startproject defaults, enable DEBUG = False in production, and run security audits with tools like python manage.py check --deploy.
Recent DoS Vulnerabilities (2025)
• CVE-2025-64460 (Dec 2025, Moderate): Algorithmic complexity in XML serializer text extraction leads to resource exhaustion. Fix: Upgrade to 5.2.9, 5.1.15, or 4.2.27.
• CVE-2024-56374 (Jan 2025): DoS via IPv6 validation. Fix: Upgrade to 5.1+ or 5.0 patch.
• CVE-2025-48432 (Jun 2025): Log injection via unescaped paths. Fix: Patch via Debian LTS or upstream upgrade.
For the full list of historical CVEs, visit Django’s security archive. If you’re facing a specific issue, provide more details for tailored advice! Frame-